Broken 2
by Ishanatur
Summary: GaaraxSakuxSasu Sakura has at last found peace but when sasuke returns will her new relationship be torn apart or will his return drive her further into gaara's arms. And what is this mysterious thing that seems to have torn Sakuras world to pieces
1. Chapter 1Pls read AN

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Naruto characters **

**AN: First if you are reading this and have not read broken one i suggest you do. but if you dont want to just ask me any questions you may have. **

**Secondly to the people who have read broken 1: this chapter took way too long to write. It may have some ebbs and flows because even though once I start to write a chapter, I write till its finished, this took a week to finish so it may lack continuity. I couldn't figure out exactly how to express the things I wanted to happen. I hope it is worth the wait. **

**Sakura**

Sakura woke up warm despite her nudity. She snuggled deep into the covers hating to start the day. She sighed and propped herself up on her elbow staring at the man whose bed she was now sharing. It had been six months since the night he had first kissed her. And her first official visit as his …

_What am I to him?_

A frown played across her forehead. She sighed. All the other times that she had come to visit Tsunade had given her fake missions.

_I wonder what people are thinking …_

She shook her head clear.

_It's not worth worrying about._

Turning back to the man who had somehow joined the list of her precious people, she pushed all serious thoughts from her head. She loved the way he looked when he was asleep.

_So peaceful …._

A smile crossed her lips as an idea popped into her mind.

_Oh my God I am soo bad._

She slipped out of the bed as quietly as she could, wrapped in one of the sheets, padding softly across the floor and into the kitchen. She walked to the fridge opening the door and looked inside relishing the cold air that poured against her skin. She pulled out an ice tray and placed the entire tray into a bowl. She walked back into the bedroom and stood next to his side of the bed. She took an ice cube out of the bowl glancing at his face.

_Good he's still asleep._

Raising the covers slightly she started to slip the ice cube into his pants when a hand grabbed hers.

_Dammit, I got caught._

Not looking up she said. "Good morning Gaara-kun."

**Gaara**

He had woken up as she had padded out of the room knowing she was up to something. In the few months that had passed she had changed so much. The Hokage apparently had notice the change and sent her on dummy missions every few weeks and every time she came back she changed a bit more. The pensive girl that had walked into his office sending his chair back to him had been replaced by a bright and vibrant young woman who had been picking up some interesting new habits from his sister. Not that he was complaining. Her new habits usually brought him lots of pleasure. He glanced at her long pink her. It was in a simple braid the bottom of it just grazing the top of her bottom.

Still holding her hand he whispered in her ear.

"You know kunoichi … you're in a very compromising position."

Her head snapped up to look at his face.

"Really, Kazekage-sama."

"Yes you are. I wonder what you were doing down there."

He pulled her hand up to his face taking in the ice cube and the slight blush on her face.

"Hm … now what were you planning to do with this?"

"Erm … nothing …"

"Nothing …?"

"Even if I was planning something what can you do about it." she replied, a challenge forming in her eyes.

"I'll show you exactly what I can do."

She yelped as he tugged on her wrist causing her to fall onto him. He spun around so she was on her back, his body resting on its side next to hers. Pinning her arms above her head with his sand he snatched the now melting cube out of her hands.

"I'll take this."

He paused for a moment as if wondering what to do with the frozen water. Then an idea hit him.

"Gaara just what are you up to?" she asked curiosity etching her features.

"Just wait and see."

He placed the cube back in the bowl and grabbed a new one.

_That one will not be sufficient for what I have planned._

**Sakura**

She didn't struggle for two reasons. One it was futile, unless she planned to hurt him it was pointless. Two she was really curious as to what he was planning to do with that ice.

_If it's anything like what I was planning then there is nowhere in the world I would rather be than here._

She watched him as he lowered the ice cube towards her lips. She closed her eyes in anticipation, parting her lips slightly. When she felt warmth instead of cold her eyes flew open in surprise then fluttered closed as she settled into the soft and gentle brush of his lips against hers. All of a sudden his lips were replaced by the ice and the change in sensations sent shivers down her spine. She sighed. The ice was once again removed from her lips and replaced with his. This kiss was neither soft nor gentle, it was not bruising the way some his kisses could be, but it held that potential. She loved it when he was like this, it was so different from the Gaara that he showed the world. This Gaara was _kind_ and _gentle_, but still not treating her like glass like some of the people in her life treated her. All of a sudden, there was a cold feeling at the tip of her collarbone. She yelped in surprise almost biting his lips in the process. Her eyes flew open, to catch the triumphant smirk on his face. She had just that second to get used to the sensation then the ice, followed seconds later by his lips, started its slow trip down her body.

_Oh Lord, the things this man does to me._

She twisted her body, trying to wriggle into a position that would make him kiss the places that she wanted his lips to be, but the sand that held her hands and now her feet down was too strong.

_Well you know what they say, if you can't beat them join them._

And with that thought she stopped struggling, closed her eyes, and let Gaara finish what he had started.

**Gaara**

The ice was still between her breasts when she stopped trying to direct him. He smiled against her skin, the knowledge that she had submitted herself to him completely thrilling him. Using his tongue he drank in the water that had pooled near her collarbone. Then following the path that the ice had made first he began to kiss the patches of wetness that the melting ice had left trailing down her collarbone and then down the center of her chest before making circles around her breast, coming closer and closer to the tip but never quite reaching. He tipped his head down to enjoy the taste of her now tight nipples. She squirmed underneath him. He was about to replace the ice when there was a banging on the door.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

The banging continued.

"Gaara! I know she's in there! I need to talk to Sakura!"  
_This is the last straw. Once and for all I am going to kill that idiot sister of mine._

Glancing to make sure Sakura was properly clad, he swung the door open.

"You better have a **DAMN** good reason Temari."

Not even hesitating, the girl bustled past the ball of rage that was her brother.

"Sakura! We just got an urgent message from your Hokage. It says you need to return to the village immediately!"

**Sakura**

As she walked into the gates hours later she wondered what could be so important that they had to summon her from Suna. She walked through the town exhausted and nervous. There was a hush that meant something had gone very wrong. If something had gone so wrong that not only had they had to summon her away while she was on vacation, but that the whole town had known about it then a lot of people were probably hurt and Tsunade was probably in need of extra hands. She did not have the luxury of walking. Pushing chakra into her feet she sped off towards the hospital.

She walked into the building and it was pandemonium, nurses running everywhere.

_Something must have really gone wrong. They must really need me. Why waste time going to the office when I can go directly to the source of the problem._

Ignoring the summons to go directly to Tsunade's office, she headed straight for the emergency rooms usually assigned to her. The first one was empty, as well as the second.

_Now this is strange, where is everyone?_

As she approached the third room she detected life.

_Finally …whoever this is better be hurt real bad or else they _**will**_ need medical attention by the time I'm done with them._

Grabbing the medical chart and not bothering to knock (the patients she treated were usually too out of it to respond) she walked into the room. She was still reading the sheet and so had not looked up.

_What the hell! There is nothing wrong with this patient. _

She thought, flipping through the pages of the medical report, noting the thoroughness of the tests they had given the patient.

_Who the hell is this that can warrant an emergency room in the middle of a crisis?_

She flipped to the first page the report, her blood turning to ice as she read the name of the sheet. She looked up at the patient lying on his side with his back facing the door hair gleaming in the sunlight that was streaking in through the window. She knew without a doubt in her mind that it really was him. Her limbs moved of their own accord and she fled the room.

Once outside she regained her composure. She leaned her back against the door, her mind spinning out of control. Despite the turmoil of her thoughts one question was at the forefront of them all.

_Why … Why …Why …!_

_Why …_

_Sasuke._

**AN: Why is Sasuke back? How much will he have changed? How will Sakura handle it? Better yet, how will Gaara handle it? So many questions…. Find all the answers in the next exciting episode of Broken2. **

**COMING SOON!**


	2. Chapter 2

10

**Disclaimer: You bad bad people you think I own Naruto shame on you!**

**Sasuke**

Sasuke sighed in relief as whoever it was that came to his room left without saying anything. He was tired of the stupid nurses and fan-girls that came in just to harass him with their petting and prodding. You would think that the nurses would at least have better things to do. He had almost killed the last one who thought she could sneak up on him.

_Even though the Hokage let me come back and use this room till I find an apartment I don't think she would take me killing one of her nurses well._

He smirked at the thought.

_No she wouldn't handle that well at all._

Hearing a slumping sound glanced at the slot of the door that was supposed to allow doctors look in on their patients without disturbing them. It was then that he saw it.

_Pink hair … no one in this world has hair like that except …._

Just at that moment, the door opened and in walked the person who he had dreaded seeing the most, head down reading the sheet that all the nurses seemed to come in reading. He waited for the outburst of emotion that never came.

"Sakura"

She looked up at the sound of her name, fixing her eyes on him and silence filled the room. He used the opportunity to thoroughly inspect the woman she had become. He took in the now waist length hair in the single braid that swayed slightly in the wind, the long legs that were clearly defined with muscles, the slim waist, flat stomach and the slightly upturned breasts. Despite the changes in her physical appearance the thing that intrigued him the most was her eyes. Gone was the innocence that seemed to spill out of them before, gone to be replaced with something cold hard and definitely not innocent.

_I guess even she had to grow up someday._

"Good day Uchiha-san"

That got his attention.

_That was unexpectedly formal._

He didn't know how to respond to that so he gave his usual stock response.

"Hn"

She seemed to pause a bit regarding him with almost suspicion. He turned to face the window again not wanting to encourage any breakdowns from the emotional girl.

"I am going to give you a check up Uchiha."

"Don't worry one of the other nurses did that already."

There was a slight pause and then she laughed, a sound that seemed to tickle the air.

"What's so funny?" he glared at the woman who was now almost doubled over laughing.

"Oh Sasuke … you haven't changed at all …"

Then as if noticing that she had slipped up and called him by his name she stopped laughing abruptly. Sighing she went on.

"I'm not a nurse, even though I'm not surprised that you think so. After all you never did have a very high opinion of me."

She said the last part almost with a smile.

"I'm not a nurse; I'm a doctor, actually to be more accurate I'm a medic-nin. And considering that this floor is specially assigned to me, I have a responsibility to get to know the medical status of each patient on it. Not to mention the fact that I am supremely curious as to what injury warrants you a special emergency private room."

He looked at her with surprise. She was right; he never had expected much from her.

_Who would have thought that crybaby Sakura would have what it takes to be a medic-nin, and one in charge of an emergency floor._

He had been in the Konoha hospital enough times and long enough to know that only the best were left in charge of emergency floors.

_I'm impressed._

He watched her step closer.

"Take off your shirt."

"_What?"_

"I need to do some routine checks."

Suddenly dread filled him he had remembered how intimate some of the other doctors "routine" check ups had been.

"No need, there's nothing wrong with me."

"Look _Uchiha,_ this is my floor. I'm in charge here, whether you like it or not. So take off your shirt before I take it off for you."

"Is that a threat?"

"Yes … it is"

There was something in the cold purposefulness of her voice that told him that she would make do on her threat. An image of them wrestling off his shirt unnerved him enough to make him accept defeat.

"Fine"

He slipped off the shirt and sat straight. She walked up to him and placed a palm on his chest. His head snapped up to her face.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, this wont hurt. Some of my patients even seem to enjoy it."

And just at that moment he felt foreign chakra flow through him. It started first with just the part of his chest that was in direct contact with her hand and then began to spread warmth all over his body. His skin tingled in a pleasant way. And then the chakra seemed to focus into a solid mass and roam along his skin. It roamed along his chest and his body stiffened. He looked up to Sakura's face, her eyes closed. She was breathing heavily through her mouth, her lips slightly parted.

_I wonder what kissing her would be like._

The thought popped into his head without warning.

_What the hell. When did I start …_

Just then the chakra swept passed his groin and he felt his body tighten.

_Oh God does she know how arousing this is._

He stole another glance at her. Her brow was furrowed and her head was tilted to the side, as if she had seen something she didn't like or was concentrating very hard. His eyes followed the curve of her chin to the smooth line of her neck, strayed past her shoulders and then finally rested on the rise and fall in her chest that the labored breathing caused.

Suddenly he felt a cold envelop him and he looked down to find her hand gone, taking the warming chakra with it.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you."

"Hn … any idiot could have told you that" he muttered under his breath, irritated at the thoughts that had been running through his mind.

"Like you tried to do?" she replied almost sweetly in a way that aggravated him even more.

"Shut up."

"Well since I've finished your check up and you obviously have lost whatever good manners you may have had, I'm going to have a long _discussion_ with the Hokage about what was so important that I needed to be summoned from vacation." She stepped away from him turned and walked out of the room without a single look back.

Sasuke watched her as she walked out of the room, each step making the long braid of her ponytail bounce against her bottom creating even more images in his head. He groaned to himself.

_What the fuck is wrong with me? How long has it been since I've gotten some action? Obviously way too long, think of something else._

He thought of the comment she had made before leaving. Apparently he wasn't important enough for her to come back for.

"Hn not like I care." He told the empty room.

_Yeah I really don't care._

**Sakura**

Stalking out of the room she headed straight for the Hokage's office, raging silently to herself. _Where the hell does he get off being rude to me? He should be begging for forgiveness. _

_And just whose forgiveness should he be begging?_ Inner Sakura asked quietly. She was always less aggressive when Sakura was angry.

_Who! Who I'll tell you who! First on the list is Naruto, then the Hokage and then Kakash-senseii, then everyone who was on that stupid retrieval mission for him and then Iruka-sensei and …and …and then every single person in this village. He could apologize every day for what he did and it still wouldn't be enough._

_Enough for what?_

_Enough to make it up to all the people he left behind._

_I thought you didn't care anymore._

_I don't._

_So why is he bothering you so much?_

_He is NOT bothering me!_

_Then why are you mad._

_I have every right to be mad. I'm not the one who deserted the village for its number one enemy, I'm not the one who traded everything for power, and I'm not the one who almost killed my best friend. I'm not the one who left. He should at least try to be civilized if he cant be humble._

_Oh come on … wouldn't it have been weird if he _had_ been civilized, when have you ever known the great and powerful UCHIHA SASUKE to be polite, especially after being threatened. _

_Yeah I was surprised he backed down so easily._

The two parts of Sakura paused, Inner Sakura spoke up first.

_How are we going to act around him?_

_I don't know._

_Do you want to be friends with him again?_

_NO!_

_Do you want to be enemies?_

She shook her head. _No._

_So what do we do?_

_I don't know, I'll deal with him when I get around to it. Who knows we might be able to avoid him, it's not like we are still team mates and if we're very lucky maybe he'll start avoiding us in turn. _

_Yeah lets do that._

_Okay so OPERATION: IGNORE SASUKE goes into effect right now._

And with that thought she sped off to talk to her sensei.

**Tsunade**

She had been sitting in her office waiting for her apprentice to come in.

_Why did this have to happen now of all times? Why couldn't the Uchiha idiot just stayed away at least until her relationship with the Kazekage had cemented itself enough to be tested? Why did he have to have that precious bloodline? If not for the stupid sharingan I would not have had to take the little traitor back. _

She remembered the day he had just casually walked into her office.

_Flashback_

"_Give me one good reason not to execute you right now Uchiha."_

"_I have eliminated one of Konoha's enemies and have valuable information concerning another." _

"_I could just extract that information from you _forcibly_ and execute you then."_

"_The sharingan is no use to you if I'm dead."_

_She was not usually this cold but she had never liked bloodline families, they were too proud of something that they hadn't worked hard to get. The Uchiha's were the worst of them. As a whole their over exaggerated sense of their own importance irked her and she liked this one even less for the things he had done to a certain pink haired kunoichi and another blonde haired shinobi. So in her mind her next statement was well deserved._

"_Kakashi is living proof that we don't need you alive. I wonder who would sign up to receive a sharingan eye."_

_That seemed to stop the man in his tracks. He looked at her disbelievingly and nothing in her glare told him that she would not make do on her threat. He rolled the knowledge that she _would_ torture him in his mind. He looked around him at the office that he had once known and out the window to village he had always thought of as home and decided that for this one time he could let the truth about how he felt about this place be known. She of all people knew what it was like to need to leave._

"_I'm sorry Hokage-sama, you are right. There is no reason for you to condone my selfishness in wanting to come back to the only place that I ever called home. I will not trouble you again. Tell my former teammates that I _am_ sorry, but it had to be done._

_She sighed soflty to herself. She was not cruel enough to ignore such honesty. And she knew enough of men like him to know that the admission of the need for a home and the need to come back was a huge one. She watched the almost defeated slump of his shoulders. And cursed herself mentally for being such a bleeding heart._

"_You can tell them yourself. I'll assign an emergency room for you until you can find someone stupid or desperate enough to rent you an apartment. But be warned if you so much as set a baby toe outside of the gates or communicating with anything outside the gates or any other of the million things that would make me doubt your integrity, I will come after you myself."_

"_Yes ma'am"_

"_Now go sit somewhere where I don't have to look at you. I am not going to waste resources putting a guard on you, any one who you would have a hard time losing has better things to do. So behave yourself." _

_End of flashback._

She sighed, the memory irked her. Diverting her attention to the matter at hand she looked at the small framed picture that she had of Sakura.

_How am I going to break the news to her?_

A brief knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in."

An in walked the woman she had been dreading seeing.

"Ah Sakura, sit down there is something I need to tell you"

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yes, apparently there was a _surprise_ waiting in one of my emergency rooms."

"So you saw him."

"Yes"

There was a pause neither woman knowing what to say. She noted the hard lines that were etched in her apprentices face.

_She's angry._

"I'm sorry you found out that way."

"You could have put it in your message."

"I did not know if the Kazekage would have access to it before you did."

At the mention of the Kazekage, Sakura's eyes widened.

"Damn, I'm going to have to tell him."

"Yeah … and soon too, you can use my phone."

"He's not going to take it well."

"All the more reason to use my phone, you will have privacy."

"Thank you"

"It's my pleasure."

She smiled at the young woman.

"Don't worry everything is going to be fine, now get out of here and go call your boyfriend."

She watched Sakura leave the room and once the door was closed behind her she let the smile on her face be replaced by the worry she truly felt, a single thought in her mind.

_This can only end badly._

**AN: Wow that was the longest chapter I've written so far. Please keep reviewing, I love hearing from you. Criticism and Questions are very welcome.**

10


	3. Chapter 3

**Sakura**

Sakura sat staring at the phone. She had been sitting there for at least the last twenty minutes. She had picked up the phone at least fifteen times only to put it back down again. She had actually dialed the number before slamming the handset back down again.

_What the hell am I going to say to him?_

She sighed and picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?"

The voice at the other end of the line sounded suspicious, and with due cause. The Hokage's private line was after all private.

"Hi Temari it's Sakura."

"Sakura! Is everything all right back home?"

"Temari I need to speak to Gaara as quickly as possible."

"What's wrong?"

"Just let me talk to him."

"Well I'm on the other side of town and if I'm going to run all the way over to his office I need to know why."

She sighed. Temari was stubborn but also very trustworthy.

"I'll tell you as long as you assure me that you are on your way as I tell you."

"Sure just tell me already!"

"Well its about why Tsunade called for me …"

**Gaara**

Gaara sat at his desk deliberately ignoring the stack of papers that were waiting for his attention. An emotion that still felt foreign to him was making him feel very uneasy. He sat manipulating a small amount of his sand that lay in a small dish to move in an ebb and flow like a great body of water. Sakura had made the dish and suggested the technique to help, as she so eloquently put it in one fit of rage _"calm the fuck down"_.

_What is going on in Konoha? Why hasn't she …?_

"Gaara!"

"Temari you know one day you're going to barge in here and I'm going to kill you by mistake."

He looked up to find his sister panting in the doorway.

_What the hell is she panting for?_

"Gaara, it's Sakura on the phone … here."

She handed him her cell phone. He grabbed it and practically shoved her out the door before answering the call.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"Gaara, there is something I need to tell you."

"What's wrong?"

"Is there anyone in the room with you?"

"Sakura you're beginning to worry me, what's wrong?

"I need you to sit down."

"**Sakura! Tell me what is wrong right at this instant or so help me …!"**

"He's back"

Despite his rant and the almost whisper she had said it in, he heard the words. His mind however refused to process the information. He waited for the heat of his rage to envelop him and to his surprise it never came. Instead what he got was a mental picture of everything Uchiha, Sasuke had ever done in his presence. The last picture was not of Sasuke but of Naruto and just how bad he had looked after the fight to bring the traitor back. That picture brought with it a realization. If he was not there, there was very little to stop that same thing from happening to Sakura.

_I have to be there._

The decision let a false calm settle over him. He was going to Konoha to protect her. It had nothing to do with the tiny voice in the back of his mind that was telling him all the reasons that she might consider trading a new love for an old one.

**Sakura**

She waited patiently for him to say something. She had not heard anything break yet and that was a good sign. But after what she heard next she would much rather of heard the satisfying crash if splintering wood.

"I'll be there in two days"

_Click_

And just like that he was gone. She looked at the phone like it had suddenly grown a rather disturbing head.

"_What the hell am I going to do now?"_

She sighed leaving the room to tell her sensei that they would be receiving a guest,the Kazekage of the Sand.

**AN: Sorry for the really short chapter the next one will be much longer I promise**

**AN: Thanks zoebabii, who spotted a grammatical error in the last line. Its taken me a while but I finally decided what to do with the next chapter and its already under way. So hopefully it will be up soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

6

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.**

**Sasuke**

Sasuke walked along the streets of Konoha. He had left the hospital as soon as he had found a place to live. Apparently Naruto's landlord was either forgiving enough or greedy enough to house not only kyuubi inhabiting tenants but also returned missing nins as well. Living next to Naruto was entertaining to say the least. The boy had slipped into their old camaderie rather quickly, acting as if he had never even left. If he didn't know better, he would have thought it was Naruto's mission to guard him, he was hardly ever out of the boys' sight. Now Sakura on the other hand she treated him like he had the plague. She wasn't impolite; she just seemed to always have something else to do. When they saw each other on the street she mumbled a brief greeting and kept going, as soon as she noticed he was in a room she made some excuse and got out. He didn't think Naruto noticed, the idiot was never one to take note of his surroundings. And it wasn't like he cared anyway. He actually preferred that she left him alone; he could accomplish so much more without having to dodge stupid fan girls. It wasn't as if he expected her to still be in love with him. She was just a former team mate. It didn't bother him at all that the only thing that she had said to him since he left the hospital was "Uchiha-san". It didn't matter that she wouldn't even call him by name any more, much less any term of endearment. He was glad she was so obviously over him.

He sighed to himself, looking up at the bright blue sky. It was about time to meet Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen. He quickened his steps, he still had bruises from the last time he had been "late" to a meeting with Naruto. He wasn't the only one who had gotten stronger.

As he approached the restaurant they had planned to meet at, he noticed that Naruto was not alone. It seemed that Naruto had noticed the distance between his two former teammates, for sitting next to him was none other than Sakura.

_I guess the dobe uses his head for something other than smashing things._

As he got closer she looked up as if sensing his presence. The smile that had been on her face wavered and then died. She looked from him to Naruto and then started whispering fiercely at him before smacking him roughly over the head, the smile returning to her face.

_She has a very pretty smile._

The thought was in his head before he could stop it and he found himself staring at her as she talked to Naruto. She was less animated than she used to be. Whatever she had said to Naruto had obviously been about him, for he looked up and waved him over while rubbing his head.

_Some things never change._

He walked up to them and joined their table sitting next to Naruto and opposite Sakura.

"Sasuke-teme, Ha ha fancy seeing you here."

"You invited me dobe."

"He he … oh yeah, I sure did."

Naruto kept rambling on as he always did about how this was just like old times. He looked up at Sakura who was pretending to listen to Naruto's anecdote.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" He said staring directly at Sakura. A look crossed her face and as she opened her mouth to answer a cell phone rang. She jumped pulling a cell phone from somewhere under the table. Looking at it, she flipped it open and mouthed an excuse me to the members at the table and wandered off to answer the call.

He raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

"A ninja with a cell phone …"

"She has it to keep in touch when she's in the sand training their medic-nins."

He glanced over at her while she was on the phone.

_What had she been doing when he was gone._

"So she's a medic-nin."

"Yeah, she trained under the Hokage herself. She used to be in ANBU with me but she quit a little while after she became captain and …."

If he wasn't an Uchiha he would of spat out his drink or at the very least choked, but Uchiha's are the epitome of expressionlessness, so he didn't. However, something of his surprise must have shown on his face because Naruto burst out laughing.

"Yeah captain dobe, you never expected much from her."

"I keep getting told that."

He watched as she walked back to the table.

"I'm really sorry but I have to go, Tsunade-sensei needs me."

"Aww …right now."

"Yeah."

"I guess you can go then."

"Thanks, I'll see you later ok."

"Sure."

She gave Naruto a quick hug and glanced at Sasuke.

"Uchiha-san" She nodded at him and started to walk away. He watched her as she walked. He seemed to be obsessed with the long pink braid that bounced right above her bottom. Naruto interrupted his thoughts.

"She'll come around soon."

He looked at Naruto and saw concern on his face. He turned back to his food.

"It doesn't matter."

Naruto gave him a strange look and kept on going.

"I know it bothers you but you're too stubborn to admit it to yourself. She'll come around. She always does. You'll see when Gaara comes she'll go back to her usual cheery … well moderately cheery self."

He raised an eyebrow. "Gaara …?"

"Yeah … they're dating, have been for about six months."

This time he did choke. Naruto was still laughing while he relearned how to breathe. He shot him a glare.

"What are you glaring at me for, its great to see _The Unflappable, Super cool Uchiha Sasuke_ is not as unflappable or super cool as we all thought."

He glared again. Naruto calmed down enough to finish the conversation.

"No one is sure how it happened and we were all worried at first. But she had gotten so damned …" he paused as if searching for the words; unable to find them he followed another train of thought.

"She pulled away from everything when you …and then the thing with ANBU just made it worse."

"What thing with ANBU?"

Naruto waved away his question and kept on in his ramblings as if he felt he had to justify the reasons why everyone had accepted the relationship so easily. "When she came back from the sand we were all just relieved that she had started to act like a person again. We had all been so afraid that she would be like that forever. So when the change came we were all so relieved. Sure we were surprised by what or who caused the change, but we were all so glad. Despite that a part of me still worried, but when I saw them together. I knew that it was okay. They both looked soo … peaceful. Somehow it's ok." The words finally stopped tumbling out of Naruto's mouth; all that was left was a few strong nods.

"What thing with ANBU?"

Naruto looked at him in confusion. After a couple of seconds the look passed only to be replaced by one of sadness.

"It … she …" Naruto gazed off into space and then turned to him with purpose. "I cant be the one to tell you, she made me promise not to speak of it. Not to discuss it with _anyone. _She said she didn't want any more pity."

"Why would they …?"

Naruto shook his head and then changed the conversation abruptly and that was that.

Hours later Sasuke lay on his back turning thinking about the place he had always considered home. Everything had changed. He thought of the things that he remembered about Konoha. The scenery was still the same. The faces of the Hokage's were still etched in the mountain. Naruto was still immature, Lee was still flamboyant, Neji was still aloof, Hinata still shy, Ino still abrasive, Shikamaru still lazily brilliant, Chouji still constantly eating.

_If everything is still the same then why do I feel like everything's changed?_

The thought niggled at him. He stood up from the bed and out the door. He had no main destination and his feet seemed to know where they were going. He ended up in a field next to a large tree. He sat down under it in irritation. He felt like he was missing something important. A leaf fluttered down to rest in his lap. Only it wasn't a leaf, it was a petal, a soft pink petal. His mind flooded with an image of braided pink hair and green eyes.

_Everything is the same, Everything except…her._

He frowned.

_What could have happened to make her change so much? What was the _"thing"_ with ANBU? How could she have been worse than this woman who barely smiled and almost never laughed? How could someone who had once warmed the world around her have become so cold that her friends considered dating a_ monster_ step up for her? She shouldn't be with Gaara she deserved someone who would take care of her. She deserved someone who loved her not some psychopath that probably didn't even understand the concept. Had everyone forgotten that he had tried, and very nearly succeeded, to kill her? Why the hell hadn't someone knocked some sense into her? And why the hell do I care? _

He looked up to the sky as if it somehow held the answers.

"I don't care."

Shaking his head he left the tree and headed for the bridge and the sight there left his mouth dry and his stomach heavy.

There she was, pressed against the railing of the bridge, pink hair blowing in the wind, free from the braid that it seemed to be forever trapped in. And in her arms, held in a lip lock so tight that you couldn't tell where one person ended and the other began, was the infamous Gaara.

It wasn't that he cared. He just didn't like public displays. It wasn't the sight of her arms around him that made bile rise in his throat. It wasn't the tiny hands that twirled handfuls of red hair that made anger curl into his stomach like some huge serpent. And it definitely wasn't the way one of her legs was wrapped around the other man that made him want to rip them both to shreds. It wasn't like he cared, he just didn't like public displays.

"You know there are more private places to molest each other."

**AN: And there goes another chapter hope you enjoyed it**

**Thanks to all my reviewers you make my day bright and my email worth reading. I love you all.**

6


	5. Chapter 5

7

**Disclaimer: Nope still don't own Naruto.**

**Gaara**

"You know there are more private places for you to molest each other."

She jumped away from him at the sound of the voice, turning to face the shadow which it had come from. Surprise crossed Sakura's face, anger at being interrupted on his.

Sakura spoke first. She seemed to know who it was.

"We can do whatever we like wherever we like, nothing in this village is yours."

The voice seemed to contemplate that for a moment before stepping out of the shadows. There was something familiar about the dark hair and eyes and the realization of who it was took a second to sink in. A smirk contorted the mouth and he realized who it was that would be brave enough to interrupt.

"Uchiha"

The man glanced at him and then ignored him, giving his undivided attention to the woman next to him.

"That may be true but not everyone will understand why you've whored yourself out to a monster."

There was a swift intake of breath from her that he heard even as the rage filled his head and a growl tumbled out of his throat. If he hadn't liked the man before, he hated him now. The desire to kill the man that was trying to hurt the only thing precious to him filled every pore in his body. He hadn't been aware that he had stepped forward until he felt a hand surround his wrist pulling him back to her side.

He looked at her in confusion. She was shaking her head. He almost didn't hear the whisper.

"Don't"

He turned away from them, pain and disbelief filling his heart as he realized that she still cared for the bastard in front of them. He leaned against the railing of the bridge they were just on, this time his back to the water. He almost fell in when he felt her body rest into his as she spoke.

"He's not worth it. If you kill him Leaf will have to look at it as a declaration of war."

He watched the man stiffen to the fact that not only had she taken for granted that in a battle between the two men would result in his opponents death AND just delegated his life/death to a diplomatic issue. Relief washed through him.

_She doesn't care; she just has a better weapon against this particular opponent than I do at the moment._

A small smile formed on his lips as he pulled her closer to his body and rest his chin on her head.

_God I love this woman._

"You're right … it would be a complete waste of time."

The sight of the other mans jaw and fist simultaneously tightening gave him immense pleasure. And he turned her to face him slowly.

"You ready to go home?" He asked in the loudest whisper he could manage, looking into her eyes as he said it. The swift intake of breath almost made him giddy.

She blinked at him, smiled and then grasped his hand.

"I'm always ready …."

After a few steps she turned back to the man that had interrupted, as if thinking. Then she let go of his hand and walked up to the man. A hand snuck out in front of her and the next thing the traitor was on his knees gasping for air. She knelt next to him and whispered something in his ear before resuming her place by his side.

And with that they walked off into the night hand in hand.

**Sakura**

The rage didn't come until she got to her apartment. She was so angry that her body was trembling. Gaara was still with her but she had let go of his hand as soon as she had walked through the door.

_I need to break something … or scream._

She walked into the kitchen and placed her hands on the counter wondering if she had anything to break. She reached up for a plate to smash. She always kept some dinnerware that was disposable. Tsunade had told her that she needed some sort of stress reliever, they couldn't afford to be stressed with their jobs. She raised it high above her head and was about to slam it to the floor when she felt a hand around her wrist. She spun to face Gaara just dying to vent on someone. The look on his face stole the harsh words from her throat. She let him lead her out of the house to the training grounds near her house. She didn't struggle; she knew what was coming. They trained together often. She taught him control, the ability to still think rationally/tactically while fighting and he taught the ability to tap into her emotions, use them as a source for strength. They were both better fighters for it.

She stepped away from him as they reached the training rounds, settling into a defensive stance. She waited the few seconds it took to prepare him himself for her onslaught and with his nod she flew at him arms and legs flying as he tried to dodge and weave her attacks.

**Gaara**

Dawn found them still fighting but now Sakura was yelling.

"**_How dare he? Just who the hell does he think he is? He comes back after seven years, SEVEN YEARS, after he sold his body to the devil for power. Seven years after he almost killed his best friend, all for power. All for the power to kill, the power of death. He has committed unspeakable crimes, killed innocent people in the name of his cause. And then he comes back to … to point fingers. What gives him the right to …_**

She was getting better at channeling her rage, and it was getting harder and harder to dodge her attacks and concentrate on what she was saying at the same time.

**_How DARE he call YOU a monster!"_**

The comment slid past his senses and surprised him enough that he did not see the foot that flew up at him. Once it connected, the sheer momentum of it sprawled him into the nearest tree, his back hitting it with a thump before sliding down.

"Oh my God! Gaara!"

He was mildly aware of her running towards him and kneeling next to him. She was fussing with him trying to check if he was hurt. She raised a palm to his chest to start the scan he had seen her do a million times. He grabbed her wrist to tell her he was fine but was too winded to form the words. The world swam in front of his eyes and he slumped further into the tree fighting the dizziness. He needed to understand what she had said.

He pushed himself out of the fog and looked into her face, concern etched along her features.

He pushed the words out.

"Is that why you were mad?"

Confusion crawled into her face.

"Because he called me a …"

Her hand came up to his lips.

"Don't say it."

"It's what I am, people have always called me a …" a threatening glance made him pause. "…why would it upset you?"

"You believe it." Her voice seemed to marvel at the revelation.

He turned away.

"You really do believe it." She cupped a hand around his face and used it to guide it back so she could see it.

"If you were such a monster would I love you?"

He knew she loved him, he didn't understand why she did, but he was grateful for it.

"Just because an angel falls in love with a demon, doesn't make it any less of a demon or anymore deserving."

"Ohh Gaara." The sound was a soft moan as she pulled him into her arms. He held himself still afraid that his admission would make her realize the truth and leave him.

He would not try to hold her back. He didn't deserve her, that much was true, but he wanted to hold on as long as she would let him. He softened in her embrace and wrapped his arms around her.

"You're not a monster. You have risen above so much hate and mistrust. You have been through so much and still you care … you protect your village despite all the things that they have done in the past, despite all the pain they have caused you … how could you think that you're a…."

He saw the tears form in her eyes and then spill down his cheeks. He stuck out his thumb to catch the tear. He marveled at her.

_She's still beautiful, even in tears._

He hated it when she cried. And now she was crying for him. A part of him hurt, but another part of him could only marvel at the picture she made. Somehow it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Don't cry"

She looked up at him and smiled through her tears.

_I take it back; this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen._

He pulled her against his chest and buried his face in her hair.

The next morning…

**Tsunade**

She looked down at the report marked urgent on her desk and sighed. She had turned it over, upside down and inside out in her mind.

_There's no other way._

She looked up at the Uchiha who seemed to have frozen onto her wall, emotionless as ever, he hadn't even asked her what she wanted. It always amazed her how a clan that mastered fire techniques could be so icy.

There was a knock on her door.

"Come."

Sakura walked in smiling with her Kazekage boyfriend in tow. It was not unusual, the man tended to follow her everywhere. He almost seemed afraid that if he was not by her side something would come and snatch her up, which was odd considering that he lived in a completely separate village. She had tried to separate them once and several pieces of her furniture were now only good as tender for a fire. She hadn't tried again. She had hoped that the girl would leave him behind this time, but that was wishful thinking considering the circumstances. It was going to be hard enough with just the two of them, all three was going to be damn near impossible.

_I guess it's true what they say, when it rains, it pours._

"You asked to see me sensei?"

"Yes …something has come up."

She slid the report across the table and motioned for the girl to pick it up.

"Someone up there must really have it in for me." At this the red head at her side looked into the report then at the woman then frowned.

"You're not going."

"I have to."

She watched as Sakura turned to face him. "I have to go."

"No you don't"

"You can't stop me from doing this anymore than I can stop you from going back to Suna."

Her voice was tender but underneath there was a no-nonsense tone that allowed no argument, Gaara seemed to understand it and did not argue further.

She looked from one to the other; it always surprised her that Sakura was the only person that was able to control Gaara.

"After what happened the last time … I wasn't going to send you on this mission. But there was a note attached that requested your presence, as well as a threat as to what will happen if you "refuse the invitation". I will, however, send someone with you who …"

"No."

She had known the girl would object.

"Sakura, I am not sending you to this mad man alone."

"And I'm not repeating what happened last time."

"Sakura, she's right you can't go alone."

The look the Sakura gave him would have frozen lava. He took the hint and backed off, settling into one of the nearby chairs.

"I'm not taking anyone."

"Then you're not going."

This time the icy look was focused on her.

"So tell me who are you going to send? Who can you risk? No one will agree to take this mission."

"Well when I decided this I went over the files I decided that the most sensible person, considering it's a genjutsu user you'll be up against, would be one of the Hyuugas' but the only one available is Hinata."

"No, I am not taking Hinata into this, if you won't let me go alone then at least send someone with more field experience."

"I would have sent Kakashi but he is unavailable at the moment, and then I realized it doesn't need to be him. You're teammate on this mission will be …"

"**No"**

She had expected the protest. She knew that Sakura wouldn't like it but by having her eliminate all the other options she would know that it was unavoidable. She had known that Gaara would not like it.

"She is not going."

"Gaara we have discussed this."

"I would have accepted that you had to go, but I will not sit and watch idly while _you_ send her off to face a crazed madman with only a traitor as backup."

"Are you afraid I'll steal your girlfriend?"

Sakura's back straightened and Gaara's fist clenched, both heads turned to the corner the voice had come from. Sasuke stepped out of the corner he had been lurking in. Gaara's gourd opened, the cork making an ominous popping sound and Sasuke's eyes slipped into sharingan.

_I don't have time for this._

She let her own chakra slice into the room, reminding them in whose presence they were. Both heads snapped towards her, glaring at her.

"There will be no further arguing on this matter. Sakura, Sasuke you will leave for you mission tomorrow. Gaara you are welcome to stay in Konoha until you decide to leave. Now all of you get out of my office."

**Whew that's the end of that chapter it took a while to write and when I finally had it done my internet decided that we shouldn't be friends any more. Pure craziness. Don't worry I'm already working on the next chapter (I have it all mapped out in my head so it shouldn't take too long. Hope you enjoyed it. See you soon. **

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	6. Chapter 6

**AN: when I was reading review I realized that quite q few people got upset that Sasuke called Gaara a monster. Remember that in my story Sasuke hasn't seen Gaara since the chuunin exams and doesn't know anything about the personality changes in Gaara. **

Sasuke lay on his back staring at the ceiling. For some reason he had not been able to sleep. Even when he had used a jutsu to force himself into slumber he had only woken up a couple of hours later completely agitated. He was restless. He turned over to stare at the clock by his bedside. It was 4.45am. They had to meet at the bridge at six and it would take him an hour to get ready.

_No point in going back to sleep._

He flopped onto his back recalling the events of the previous days.

_What the hell is wrong with me? Why have I been acting this way? _

An image of Sakura encased in Gaara's arms flashed into his mind and a cold lump formed in his stomach. Something about the picture they had made upset him and he didn't know why.

He flipped over on his stomach and picked up the picture of team seven that was sitting on his bed. She was smiling. He hadn't seen that carefree smile in a long time. He remembered how she had always been so emotional. When she was happy she lit up from the inside, almost glowing. He had not seen her glow in all the time he had been back. He thought that she had lost that side of her until he watched her walk into Tsunade's office. She had walked in with Gaara looking back at the man to give one of her beaming smiles as she laughed at something he had probably said.

_Could Naruto have been right? Is Gaara really the thing that makes her happy?_

He frowned to himself. He had never liked the red-haired man. He had like him even less after the chuunin exams and nothing had happened since then to change his mind.

_He cant be good for her, she needs someone who would make her happy._

He thought back to the night he left and the tears that she cried over him.

_She deserves to be happy. And if Gaara makes her happy and Naruto approves, not to mention loud mouth Ino and all her other friends, then there must be something that I am not seeing._

He placed the picture back on the table, sighing to himself. He got up to get ready for the mission, making up his mind to figure out what it was that Gaara had done to win over the entire village.

He arrived on the bridge an hour later. This was the place they were supposed to meet but there was no sign of Sakura. Even though he was early, he found his patience wearing thin. After all Sasuke wasn't very patient even after he had had a full nights rest. He leaned against the bridge in the same spot that Gaara and Sakura had been several nights before.

He heard her laughter before he saw her. It sounded rich and carefree. He remembered the sound from their childhood. He had always thought it was pretty. It was not loud and abrasive like Naruto's. Instead it was malleable, constantly changing in pitch and depth. He liked hearing it still. He couldn't remember what his own laughter sounded like.

"Gaara!"

He frowned. He wasn't surprised that Gaara was with her. Since the mans arrival the two had been inseparable. He watched as they approached him. Sakura was smiling, beaming in fact while the man beside her looked as he always looked, sullen and slightly pissed off.

_What the hell does she see in him? And what could he have said that could have been so funny?_

He watched them approach and become aware of his presence. The way Sakura's face fell when she saw him made something in the vicinity of her chest ache.

"Good morning Uchiha-san."

"Hn"

She gave him as funny look before returning her attention to the man at her side. He pretended not to watch as she enveloped the man in a hug the urge to rip the two from each other almost swallowing him. The hug didn't end soon enough for his tastes.

"Are you ready?"

He couldn't believe she was asking him if _he_ was ready. She was the one that had decided to bring her boyfriend to the mission departure and spend the entire morning fawning over him like a lovesick puppy. He knew he was exaggerating but it somehow helped to quell the anger that was building in him.

He flung his usual response over his shoulder as he walked out the gates of his village.

"Hn"

She walked after him leaving Gaara behind.

**Sakura**

They had been running for almost two hours and still Sasuke hadn't said a word to her. Not that she expected him to. He hadn't even asked where they were headed or what the mission was about. According to Tsunade his mission specs were just to watch out for anything unusual. If she was in his position she would have died from curiosity. But all he had done was fall into step behind her as soon as they had hit the forest and let her lead the way.

She sighed as she stopped. This mission was going to be complicated enough without his help. He might as well know what he was getting into. She felt him stop as well, but he didn't even throw her a glance.

_God his self control is something else._

"Sasuke"

"Hn"

"We are approaching our destination."

"Hn"

"There is an inn about 15minutes from here. That is where the mission begins."

"Hn"

His none committal reply was getting on her nerves. She hated being ignored. She sighed, trying again.

"Since we started early we probably won't establish contact till tomorrow."

"Hn"

If he kept this up she was going to scream. She closed her eyes and willed herself to relax.

"When we get to the inn we have been booked in adjoining rooms."

"Hn"

_That does it._

"**Would you please say something you are neither deaf nor mute!"**

The shout got him to turn his head in her direction and blink twice. If she had known him better then she would have known that this was his version of surprise. But she didn't. Assuming that he was still ignoring, she spun on her heel in anger and headed off in the direction of the inn.

**Sasuke**

The scream took him by surprise for several reasons. First he had not noticed her rising irritation, second he thought the one liners was her way of warming into the story he had been dying to hear since the mission began (he had figured that she would tell him in her own good time), finally and probably the most important of all was the fact that it was directed at him. Sakura had never screamed at him. He knew from their genin days that she was capable of great anger, but it was always directed at Naruto and not him. He watched her as she stalked away, somewhat pleased he had elicited fight, instead of the flight, reflex in her. He smirked to himself as he followed her retreating figure.

_Finally the old Sakura is back_.

**AN: Ok guys I'm so sorry that this chapter was so short and sucky and generally bad. I deserve to be hung up by my fingernails for this. Not to mention the amount of time that it took to write it. Unfortunately my muses have gone off somewhere far away and I am yet to find a suitable bribe to expedite their return if any one has any ideas on how to get them back I would love to hear from you. **

**PS thanks to all the people who emailed me to ask if I was still alive I really appreciate your concern also to the people who have stuck with me since broken thanks for you support. And for the newbies thanks as well. I love you all**

**As always thanks for making my day bright and my email worth reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sasuke**

He followed her as they walked into the room. Her usually graceful movements were stiff and agitated. She had even yelled at the clerk who had assigned them to their room. He smirked to himself, glad that she was or seemed to be affected by his presence. He was tired of being ignored by a woman who once could not leave him alone for more than three seconds.

She turned to him.

"Your room is on the left, mine is on the right. There is a connecting door between the rooms. Give me fifteen minutes to get freshened up. I will brief you on the mission then."

She started to head into her room but stopped and turned back to him.

"Knock"

With that she slipped into her room and disappeared from his view. He walked into his room and sat on the bed to take off his clothes before heading for the bathroom.

**Sakura**

She walked into her room flinging her pack onto the bed and heading to the bathroom. Stripping as she went. She was still a little bit angry.

_I can't believe that I yelled at that poor clerk. Stupid Sasuke, can't even show some remorse. _

_You expected remorse from Sasuke?_ Inner Sakura asked.

_No not really but he didn't have to seem so ..._

_Pleased? _

_You thought so too. I thought it was my imagination. Why is he pleased that I am angry?_

_Well you have been ignoring him for a while... he might just be excited that you are finally responding to him_.

She sighed as she looked around the small room, while she put up her hair. There was a tub in the middle of the room surronded by a clear shower curtain and a shower head. She stepped in, making sure that the curtain completely surrounded her. She had no intention of cleaning up a wet floor. She turned the water on full blast, loving the way it felt against her skin.

_One would think that he'd be glad that I was ignoring him._

_Maybe he likes you._

She almost fell out of the tub in surprise.

_Of all the dumb, idiotic, stupid things that you have ever said, that has to be the dumbest._

_Why?_

_What do you mean why?_

_Why is it stupid to think that Sasuke likes you? You're intelligent, pretty and have a great body._

_You're crazy._

_Why is that so hard to believe?_

_Come on ... this is Sasuke we are talking about ... don't you remember ... we are annoying to him._

_People change... you did._

_True people change but not Sasuke ... he doesn't change, he'll always be an avenger._

**Sasuke**

Sasuke had never been an indecisive person. It was against his nature. When there was a decision to make he would decide what to do and do it. That was the way he worked. Siiting on a bed in a small inn trying to make a decision was the kind of thing weak or simple minded people did. Sasuke had never considered himself weak or simple in any way, so the fact that he was having such a hard time deciding on a course of action for such a simple problem was annoying him more than the problem itself.

He glanced at the pile of towels sitting next to him on the bed then to the door that connected to the bathroom, listening to a sound that was obviously shower water.

I should never have taken them from the attendant.

The memory of the attendant who had brought the towels tickled his brain. The poor guy had almost been shaking with fear. Apparently he had snuck up on her before and had suffered broken bones for his trouble. She had healed them after she had found out that he wasn't an enemy but it had taken quite a bit of time to convince her. His fear had made Sasuke want to laugh.

He had known Sakura was violent in nature but he had never before seen her extend it to anyone other than Naruto. And the idea that she was fast enough to break bones and strong enough heal them was still new to him. He couldn't get the picture of the girl he had left behind on the bridge out of his head. He was unable to reconcile the girl who had cried her pleadings for him to stay or the one who had collapsed limply in his arms to the woman he kept hearing about.

He glanced back at the towels, mentally rebuking himself for being such a fool.

_Just do it already._

He pushed himself of the bed and grabbed the towels roughly, heading for the bathroom.

_I can probably slip in and out without her noticing._

He smiled to himself as he thought about it.

_Even if she has gotten stronger she probably won't be able to detect my presence over the noise of the shower. I can slip in put the towels somewhere and slip out her being any wiser._

He smirked to himself as he slipped as quietly as he could into the room, only to be greeted by a blast of steam. Taking a few tentative steps, he strained his eyes to see. After a few moments the steam began to clear and he glanced at the shower to make sure that she hadn't sensed his presence. What he saw rooted him to his spot in the middle of the bathroom floor. His eyes took in the blurred silhouette of her body behind the shower curtain. Eyes traveled slowly over the bend of her arms as her hands washed her hair, the way the action pulled her breasts up, the way the combination of water and steam played with her skin hiding the things he had never thought he would want to see.

He suddenly felt lightheaded. Whether it was from the steam or the fact that all the blood in his body had rushed to his groin he wasn't sure. Suddenly the steam cleared completely and the image in the shower disappeared.

_What the hell …?_

Without warning there was the unfortunately familiar feel of a kunai pressed to his neck, a fierce pressure holding his wrists behind his back and a very familiar, very angry voice coming from right behind him.

"You better have a **_damned_** good reason, Sasuke."

And just like that his erection died almost as quickly as it had come to life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sasuke**

He had never felt so embarrassed in his life. He groaned to himself.

"It's not what you're thinking"

"You don't know what I'm thinking."

"Are you going to let me go?"

"No"

"Why not?"

"You're yet to give me a reason and/or proof that you _are_ in fact Sasuke. 'cos coming to think of it you really could be some vagabond trying to take advantage of an innocent young woman."

He didn't need to see her to know that she was smiling. The tone of her voice hinted at barely suppressed laughter.

_She thinks this is funny._

"You think this is funny."

"No not really …" his temper stilled for a moment in the knowledge that she wasn't laughing at him.

"I think it's hilarious, who would have thought that Uchiha Sasuke, the mysterious, aloof avenger, was a peeping Tom. I can't wait to tell Naruto. Maybe he'll introduce you to Jiraiya, I'm sure the author of Icha Icha Paradise would _love_ to have a new apprentice."

His anger bubbled over.

"Sakura, let go of me … **now**."

He could feel her stiffen behind him and then exert enough pressure on his wrist to make them hurt, almost enough to break.

"Are you threatening me _Sasuke-kun_…?" she purred. The way she said his name almost made him shiver. It was too sweet, thick like sap.

"I've got you cornered Sasuke. There is nothing you can do to get out of my grip without inflicting pain. On second thought maybe I should be worried; after all you've never cared whether or not you hurt me before." All the sweetness had left her voice, leaving only malice; the sheer depth of it quelled his anger.

"Sakura …I…"

She suddenly let go of her grip on him thrusting him away from her.

"Get out."

Her voice was quiet and sounded like it was about to break. He turned to watch her, surprised that there were no tears. Although impeccably dressed, she looked tired.

_The stress of the past few days must have taken their toll on her._

The thought that he was one of the reasons for her distress unnerved him in a way that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Sakura …"

"I'll call you when I'm ready."

And with that she turned and walked out leaving him feeling more foolish and dejected tan he had ever felt in his life.

**AN: Sorry for the shortness again. My dorm caught fire and we were displaced for a while but I'm back now hope you enjoy the story hopefully the next chapter will be longer**

**Please review**


	9. Chapter 9

5

**Sakura**

Sakura lay on the bed willing the whole world to go away. She had been lying there for a long time, staring at the ceiling her mind carefully blank.

_If you're going to spend the whole day in bed you might as well go to sleep._

She sighed; Inner Sakura never handled inactivity very well.

_Why is it that you can't stay still for longer than two minutes?_

_Someone has to make sure you don't turn into a ninja couch potato._

She smiled.

_See now that's the Sakura we all know and love. Why don't you put all that good attitude to use and go tell the ninja in the other room the mission specs?_

She frowned.

_I don't want to talk to him, I'm going to slide the file under the door. He can read it himself._

_Come on Sakura stop being such a baby. A big strong girl like you cant handle one little Uchiha._

_I don't want him to see how emotional I am being right now._

_I'm sure he'll understand after he reads that file._

_I don't want him to understand! Why does he get to sift through all the fine details of my life when I don't know shit about his! Why does he always have to see me at my weakest!_

The outburst quieted Inner Sakura; as such outbursts often did, but only for a while.

_I understand how you feel. But would you rather he pore through the entire file on his own or do you want to tell him the truth about what happened yourself?_

She sighed, knowing that her inner self was right.

_When did you start being the voice of wisdom?_

_Never, I only tell you the truth, nothing more nothing less. Now get your cute butt in there._

_Fine, fine, fine. _

And with that she slid off the bed and headed in the direction of Sasuke's room.

**Sasuke**

Sasuke lay on the his bed thinking of the events that had occurred in the bathroom.

_What the fuck happened? How did Sakura manage to creep up on me? How did she even know I was there? She couldn't have possibly heard me…._

All of a sudden there was a knock on the door.

"Come in"

The door opened and in walked Sakura holding a large folder.

_She still looks tired._

"Are you sure you want to do this now, we can do it first thing in the morning?"

He didn't know why he even asked and from the look she gave him, she didn't know either.

"No. We will do this now; there is no point in delaying it."

"Okay."

She looked around the room as if searching for something.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing"

She then sat cross legged in the middle of the floor and glanced up at him.

"Are you ready?"

_More than you will ever know._

He sat down in front of her preparing himself to hear the thing that had apparently changed her life.

"It started when we got a mission from within the Fire Lord. Several female bodies had been found mutilated in a village close by and the local law enforcement had been unable to discover anything. From the reports we realized that the culprit had to be a ninja. For one thing the girls seemed to just disappear from wherever they had been. All the girls had been abducted from popular hangouts for youths. We deduced that the victim must have used an illusion of some sort. In order to catch him we needed someone with experience with illusions. My team was chosen."

She paused to hand the files to him.

"As you will see from their files two of the three were training in the illusionary techniques, so it would be good experience for them. Also I fit the profile of the women he was targeting. It would prove useful in luring him out. When we got to the inn we decided to rest for a few hours before starting out mission. When I woke up I realized that something was wrong. It took me a moment to realize that we were in a very powerful illusion. The other members of the team were not advanced enough to realize it so I decided to dispel it myself. Apparently **_we _**hadn't been in the illusion at all, it was just me."

At this she paused and walked to the window, her back facing him.

"My team was missing. But there was a note left on the bed that gave me directions on where to find them. I have never run so hard or so fast in my life."

Her voice softened and he had to move closer to her just to hear. She must have sensed his presence because her body tensed and her arms wrapped around her body as if she was cold, before she continued.

"I knew it was a trap, but what could I do? I had to find them. Everyone had left me. Kakashi, Naruto …."

She paused and he knew that his name was on the list. The fact that she refused to say it made something in the vicinity of his heart clench.

"I couldn't lose them too. And so I went head first into what I knew was a trap, except when I got there it wasn't a trap. They were dead. And he was gone."

She sighed

"Since then he has been sending me notes. Apparently he was even crazier than we had thought."

She turned, walked around him to pick up the file that had been sitting on the floor and handed it to him. "That file has the specific details of the mission and a collection of every letter he has ever sent me in chronological order. You may go through it if you like; it might give you some insight into his mind. If you find anything, anything at all, unusual or suspicious let me know."

She walked out of the room leaving him holding the large file in his hands. He glanced at the door she had walked through.

_She's leaving out something._

He glanced at the file in his hands.

_I wonder what it is that she isn't saying._

He sat on his bed taking the file with him.

Two hours later he closed the last page of the file, staring at the door leading to Sakura's room in horror.

_No wonder she quit ANBU._

Images filled his head of the reports he had read. He had started with her report of the mission, which was roughly the exact same thing she had told him. The next part of the file contained a report from another member of ANBU. Apparently, Tsunade had received information that the man they were chasing was an S-class criminal and had sent backup. The report was probably the most horrifying thing he had ever read.

…_Upon arriving at the place that the note in Miss Haruno's room indicated we found a long hallway. Since it was dark we used a torch to light the way. It was then we noticed that there were patches of blood of equal distance away from each other almost all the way down the hall. Worried by the blood we hurried down the hall into a small darkly lit room. In this room we found Miss Haruno covered in blood pumping charka into the remains of her teammates. There were bloody marks on the floor of the room, suggesting that she had pulled the pieces together in an attempt to fix them. There was also a note on the wall that seemed to be written in blood. The note read:_

_"Now that I have found you my love it is only a matter of time._

_Everything I have done, I have done for you._

_All the other women have been my attempt to find you,_

_Please do not be jealous, they meant nothing to me._

_I hope you are pleased with my gift,_

_These ones are not worthy of you, they are only holding you back._

_Every piece represents my love for you_

_We will be together soon, nothing will tear us apart."_

_It seems the attacker has focused his insanity on Miss Haruno._

_When we tried to separate her from the bodies she attempted to fight us. In the end we had to take her out by agreeing to bring back her team mates as well. When asked why she said it was so she could continue working on them. That they would die if we left them in the condition they are in. The journey back was quite difficult as Miss Haruno kept attempting to reach her teammates so she could heal them. _

_I am recommending Miss Haruno for immediate psychological care._

_-- Hatake Kakashi_

The notes that had been reaching her after that had been just as unnerving. Most were detailed accounts of all the women he had killed. Some had even included pictures and details of equally chilling gifts.

_And here I thought that no one could be crazier than Orochimaru._

Sasuke shook his head trying to get the images the words had created out of his head.

_No wonder no one had wanted to talk about it._

At that moment there was a knock on the door.

"Come in"

Sakura walked in and placed a note on the bed beside him.

"It seems like we're going out."

He glanced at the sheet of paper on the bed.

"_My love, I do not understand your actions._

_Is there a reason that you have brought another to our meeting? _

_No matter, I will not allow him to disrupt my plans._

_The dress is for you, Isn't it lovely?_

_I have also provided attire for the young gentleman to join us._

_Perhaps you mean to share him with me as I have shared my women with you._

_If that is the case, I can not wait for our meeting"_

"My dress was in my closet, your _attire_ should be in yours. I would look very carefully over it if I were you. We leave in one hour."

**Thank you to all the people who expressed concern for my well being during the fire. Nobody was hurt and I did not lose anything. I live three floors above were the fire started. Well I hope you like the update**

5


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I understand that the last chapter was a bit grim but that was the way I felt it needed to be to express why Sakura was being so temperamental and everyone was so worried about her. **

**Also I think I may have implied that Naruto and Kakashi are dead. I did not mean too. They are not a part of her ANBU team. They have all gone their separate ways and have all been assigned to different teams.**

**When I was deciding on outfits I didn't know what to choose. Since I don't know much about Japanese clothing I decided to go with a more American style **

**Now onto the story**

**Sakura**

Her mind was blank, devoid of anger or any other emotion. This was the part of her that killed. The part that did what was necessary to keep the things she cared about safe, the part that let her use her hard earned medical knowledge to extract information out of reluctant enemies. This was the part that had been brought out by years of training, and had been refined into perfection by the very man that she was going to see. In this part of her, there was no mercy.

**Sasuke**

He glanced at himself in the mirror. He hadn't trusted the suit that he found hanging in his closet. As crazy as the man in the letters was, there was no telling what could have been hidden in that suit. Luckily for him, a nearby store had similar outfits. He had however had to wear the shoes that had been provided. The note in his closet mentioned that the shoes were under the bed. Kneeling to look for them, he stuck his head under the bed. The sound of the door opening made him jerk his head up in surprise. An action that caused said head to slam right into the wooden bottom of the bed.

"Shit"

The expletive was out of his mouth before he could think about it.

"Sasuke?"

"I'm fine."

"What happened?" her voice was flat. It held none of the ups and downs that he had always identified with her.

"Nothing"

There was an uncomfortable pause before she asked.

"Is there any particular reason that you are hiding under the bed?"

She didn't even sound curious or annoyed.

_I guess from here on out it's all business._

"Shoes"

"These shoes?"

Something hit him in the knee and he looked down to see the offending items.

"Yeah"

He slipped them on his feet and then moved to rise. His actions were stopped when he noticed the woman in the room with him.

His eyes took in the slimness of her ankles. The muscles in her legs free from bindings, the flare of the skirt as it played with her hips, the dip in the dress as it played hide and seek with her cleavage, the way her skin seemed to glow and the way soft strands of hair that were not captured by the tight bun seemed to play with her face.

_And what a face._

Sasuke couldn't help but stare at Sakura. He had never seen her in any kind of makeup before and never thought that she had needed it. She wasn't wearing very much now, but the little she had on went a long way. Her lips were coated with a gloss that made them look wet and soft. Her skin was pale with cheeks highlighted in a soft pink. As captivating as those features were it was her eyes that made Sasuke's heart stop.

Her green eyes seemed even more vibrant due to the shadow that graced her lids, but it was a cold green, a cold that can only be achieved by harboring hate. Sasuke had seen these eyes before, but he had never expected to see them on her.

_Now I now what Gaara meant when he said we had the same eyes. She has those eyes now._

"Are you done staring at me or do you want to take a picture?"

She made no attempt to hide the annoyance in her voice. He knew how she was feeling, probably more than anyone.

"Let's go."

The look she gave him before turning to leave the room could have frozen hell.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: If Naruto were mine the stupid fillers would be over already.**

Eyes followed from above as the two walked towards the building. A pale hand reached out as if to touch the pink haired woman beneath them. But soon she was replaced with a picture of ebony hair that was decidedly not female. He snatched his hand back as if burned his brown eyes lighting with distaste.

"That hateful man! I just want to ….oooooooh"

He shuddered.

The tallest of them stepped closer to him knowing that his companion was prone to moments of rashness. He had never understood the other man's inability to follow a simple plan.

"Patience is a virtue my friend. Think of all the things that we can …"

"But he _**touched** _her. How dare he?! It was bad enough that we had to stand by and watch while that sand vermin did unspeakable things to her. I will not allow any one else touch her. I will NOT!"

He made a move as if to jump off the roof but was held back by very firm, very strong hands.

"Don't be so impulsive …"

"Why do the two of you have to fight all the time? Did you ever think of Mirako?"

The woman's' voice was impatient.

"You're ruining this for her."

"OH NO! We're sorry Mirako you've never seen our cherry blossom before have you?"

The little girl peeked out from behind the legs of the older woman.

"Erm … no … well … well… you guys… you never let me see her before…. I'm not blaming you guys.. but …erm" She glanced at the ground. " … She's very pretty."

"I know isn't she? She'll look even prettier with that undeserving bastard's blood all over her."

"Don't say things like that Arashi!"

"Why not?"

"You'll scare her."

"I'M NOT SCARED! Don't treat me like a baby. I don't want that slimy man touching her either. I don't like him."

"That's good we don't like him either."

"I want something bad to happen to him."

"Don't worry. Something will. Something _very_ nasty."

Eyes swiveled to meet the woman's excited stare, they all knew what the look on her face meant, and it made all but the youngest of them shudder in anticipation.

**AN: Sorry about the shortness the next one is already written and will be up really soon.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sasuke**

Sasuke followed Sakura all the way to a run dilapidated building. At the door she looked up before making to step inside. He grabbed her shoulder and she the force of her glare at him made him want to cut off the offending hand. He decided to explain before she did it for him.

"I should go first. Search for traps etc"

"Hmph"

She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and walked into the building.

He followed after her and as soon as he entered the building he was hit with the strongest genjutsu he had ever felt short of the Mangekyou Sharingan inspired, Tsukiyomi.

"Sak- …"

"Don't dispel it. We do not want him to know our abilities and do **not** activate **anything** unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Sakura, I don't think that is very wise."

She turned on him with viciousness that he had only ever seen her use on Naruto.

"If I _wanted_ your opinion I would have asked for it. As I did nothing of the kind I would appreciate it if you stayed _out_ of my business." She paused for a second before adding. "Do not concern yourself with the path that I take."

The sound of the words he had once said to her lashed out at him, causing something in the vicinity of what would have been his heart (if he believed that he still had one) to react painfully.

Something must have crossed across his face because she smirked in satisfaction before turning around to continue their journey.

He looked around the hall, covered in decadent white and gold drapes that may or not be an illusion. He was uncomfortable; the feeling of vulnerability had never set well with him. He focused his eyes back on the woman in front of him contemplating her mental state in an effort to distract himself from thinking about how dangerous it is to walk around in a psychopath's genjutsu.

_She shouldn't be doing this._

"Sakura?"

"What do you want now?"

He ignored the impatience in her voice.

"What do you plan to do when we find him?"

She looked at him queerly for a moment before her features resumed to their previous emotionless state and her eyes hardened again.

"You're the avenger, you tell me."

"You're right I am. I could do it for you Sakura; you don't have to go through with this."

"Save it Sasuke I've heard this speech too many times. I seem to recall giving you one just like it. And look what happened with you."

That had him silent for a second. The memory of his brothers' death flooded into his mind. The look on the mans' face as he realized that he had been defeated was burned into his brain and worried his sleep. Itachi had wanted to die, but he had wanted to die not by the hand of some faceless shinobi who had gotten lucky. He wanted to die at the hands of his "foolish little brother". That was all the information that he had been able to get out of the man he once called his brother before his life slipped away.

"Sakura, I can't take back the things I did."

"But would you if you could? Would you have given up the possibility of killing the man who had robbed you of everything that you held dear? Was there _anything_ that _anyone_ could have said to make you say … 'You know what! revenge is futile I'll just go sit in a corner and forget every hurt that I couldn't stop that man from inflicting …?"

The last part was said as a broken whisper, her head tilted so she was gazing very intently at the floor. He stepped close enough to cup his hand around her cheek, pulling her face up so he could see her eyes, eyes that were wide and bright with unshed tears.

And just like that she was the girl that he remembered leaving behind; the girl whose smile lit up entire rooms and cried like her heart would bleed. Buried under all that machismo and anger was the girl that had made him wish that he was a better person than who he was, the girl that he would have protected with his very life, the only living female to hold a place in his heart. That girl could never kill anything.

"Fine, then say it Sakura, tell me exactly what you're going to do to him."

_She can't say it, please don't let her say it._

The silent prayer rang in his head and he realized he had lost her when he saw the steel return to her eyes.

"I'm going to kill him Sasuke, whether you believe me or not. I'm going to kill him, and the last thing he will ever see is my face. And the hell I send him to will seem like heaven when I'm through with him†."

And with that she wrenched herself out of his grip and stalked even faster toward the door at the end of the hallway.

**AN: **†**I know I know I stole that line from a movie but I loved that movie soooo much (it made me want to do back flips and lick my TV screen). I figured that since I will never get the chance to use it myself I would slip it in here. There will be lots of sugary goodness for those who can get it right.**

**Well what are you waiting for ready set REVIEW!**

**Ciao**

**Isha**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: No one got the movie its Sin City! I ORDER YOU TO GO RENT IT RIGHT NOW AND WATCH IT TILL YOU LOVE IT AS MUCH AS ME! Lol But honestly it's a really good movie if you like that sort of thing note it has some rather gory scenes but still the plot is good.**

**Again sorry for the shortness next one is longer I promise**

**On to the story**

**Sasuke**

He watched her as she opened the door at the end of the hall, worry over her state of mind claiming him once more.

They walked into the room in silence, taking in the room. The walls were covered with white cloth with gold embroidery decorating them. In the middle of the room there was a square dining table. It was set (in the same lavish design as the rest of the rooms and the hallways) for six. Each one had a place card stating a name, except for a blank one that he assumed was his and one that had its name scratched out. A quick glance showed him that he had been seated next to Sakura in such a way that would keep him as far away from the other guests as possible. Actually the only person he was sitting next to _was_ Sakura. He glanced up at the woman in question.

"Do you recognize any of these names?"

"Except for yours and mine, no."

They were silent for awhile until a door on one side of the room opened up to reveal a little girl dressed in a lilac kimono, brown hair done in ringlets that framed an adorable face. She looked like a cherub.

"Hello" her voice was soft, eyes focused on Sakura.

He watched the little girl scanning for any signs of harm on her body, finding none he approached her slowly.

"Hello."

She turned a hate filled gaze on him that almost made him step backwards.

"I wasn't talking to you."

She stepped away from him getting closer and closer to Sakura, who watched the child with eyes empty of emotion.

"Hello Sakura."

The sound seemed to jerk Sakura out of her daze. She knelt next to the child, reaching an arm out.

"Hi, what's your name?"

He wouldn't have been able to tell that the smile was a fake if he had not ever seen her truly smile before. She had become quite an accomplished actress. His mind marveled at yet another thing that she had accomplished in his absence.

"I'm Mirako."

"Mirako … that's a very pretty name, it suits you."

"Thank you. I like your name too Sakura."

"Really, who told you my name?"

"I'm not allowed to tell."

"That's ok."

"Who's he?"

The little girl jerked her head in Sasuke's direction and they both turned to stare at him for a moment.

"Well…"

"He's… my friend."

"What's his name?"

At this point Sasuke though it was safe to intrude.

"My name is Sasuke."

The little girls' glare focused on him once more.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to interrupt?"

He glared sourly at the little girl. "Didn't anyone ever teach you respect for your elders?"

"I only respect people who have manners …"

At this Sakura started laughing. They both turned to stare at her in that "keep out of it" way that people who are arguing often get, which only made her laugh harder. Sasuke stared at her in disbelief.

_If I'd know that arguing with a child would make her laugh like this I would have picked more fights with Naruto._

He glanced at the laughing woman and the way her eyes seemed to crinkle with mirth.

He felt a tugging at his sleeve. Huge brown eyes stared at him.

"She is veryy pretty when she laughs isn't she?"

He was about to agree with the girl when a voice beat him to it.

"Yes Mirako, Sakura is very beautiful when she laughs."


	14. Chapter 14

**Sakura**

Laughter died in her throat and her blood ran cold when she heard the voice.

_It can't be. It's not possible._

She glanced at the little girl in disbelief sadness dancing across her face.

_This can't be happening, it just can't._

She took a step back still refusing to look at the door where the voice had come from. Instead she focused her eyes on the floor.

"Hello Sakura"

She shook her head, holding her hands up to her ears; she would not acknowledge his presence.

She was being a coward and she knew it but she didn't care. Nothing could make her want to live this moment.

"Sakura?"

The voice seemed to be getting closer. She kept moving backwards until her back hit the wall. She deliberately ignored the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer, hoping that if she ignored it the nightmare would fade. Her hopes were dashed as a pair of feet came into her vision. She felt a hand cup her chin and pull her face towards upwards.

She closed her eyes trying to delay the moment when she would be forced to acknowledge the horror that was unraveling before her.

"Look at me Sakura."

"No."

"Look at me"

The pressure on her cheek increased to an almost painful level and her eyes opened slowly to acknowledge the thing her ears had hinted at.

She stared at the man in front of her. Black eyes stared back at her, swirling with emotion.

"That's better. I've missed you Sakura."

"Don't touch me."

"Sakura you hurt my feelings."

She looked him in the eye.

"You're not supposed to be here. How did you …?"

She felt a finger press against her lips.

"Shhhh it doesn't matter all that matters is that I'm back."

"But we got rid of you …"

"You did. And when I came back I was angry at first but I forgive you. You were only doing what you thought was right."

"Where are the others?"

"Ahh are you that ready to be rid of me my little cherry blossom?"

"Don't call me that."

He laughed.

"You always did hate that name."

"Almost as much as I hate you."

"Now don't be that way Sakura. I know you missed me."

A loud bang shocked them apart as the door flew open one more time.

"I knew you'd try to keep her to yourself, Kali."

**Sasuke**

Sasuke had never been so confused in his life.

_Who the hell are these people? And how in Kami's name does she know them?_

He glanced around the room

_This mission is getting stranger and stranger as the time goes by. Who are the people at the door? Apparently Sakura knew them but…_

He glanced at the doorway to see two figures standing in it, taking mental notes for his report to the Hokage.

_One male average height, blue eyes, brown hair, one female tall, green eyes, brown hair as well. That's strange._

He glanced around the room.

_They all have brown hair, could they be family._

He took a better look at each of their faces.

_Definitely not family, no two have the same facial features. _

After a close inspection of their faces he realized that they all looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't tell how he knew them. He took a closer look but still nothing seemed to stand out to him. Still he couldn't shake the feeling that he had somehow met these people before.

"What are you staring at?"

The shorter man was staring at him with no attempt to hide the hatred on his face. Sasuke returned the stare with a blank one of his own, choosing to ignore the man in favor of the one who was still standing unreasonably close to Sakura, whispering things in her ear, a fact that pissed him off immensely. The fact that Sakura was not even trying to push him away didn't help. However, the blue-eyed man wasn't to be ignored.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I'm talking to you."

That got his attention.

_How did he know…?_

"So you know who I am?"

"Of course, we all know who you are, except for probably Mirako?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Mirako?"

"The little one"

He looked at the little girl who had long since gone to stand next to the woman in the doorway.

"Well … since you all know who I am, wouldn't it be polite for you to introduce yourselves."

At this the woman stepped up.

"You'll have to excuse my companions for their lack of manners. We are all very excited to see Sakura after such a long time. My name is Talia." She patted the girl on the head smiling softly. "This adorable little girl is Mirako, to my left is Arashi and our _over-eager_ friend over there is Kali."

Sasuke tumbled the names in his head, but still could not make a connection.

The woman glanced in Sakura's direction.

"Kali if you are done don't you think that its time for dinner?"

The man dragged himself away from Sakura and turned to the woman.

"If you insist"

He made an attempt to grasp Sakura's hand but she pulled away and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk.

"If you would all take your seats please."

"No"

All heads turned to Sakura, but it was Talia who spoke first.

"Sakura, can't we just sit down to a nice dinner? We have all missed you so much."

"No Talia. We will not sit down and do anything. I want to know which one of you started this."

Her voice was laced with anger and the lost little girl look was no longer in her eyes.

They all stared at her.

"Well…?"

"You didn't like the gifts?" Arashi sounded hurt.

"It was you?" Her voice sounded confused, almost as if she had assumed it was someone else.

"I just wanted to make you happy."

"By doing …!"

"They wanted to be you Sakura! They tried so hard to make me forget you! To make all of us forget you! But I wouldn't let them …"

"Sakura you have to understand …"

"What exactly do I have to understand Kali? How can you justify killing innocent people?"

"They were not innocent."

"What were they're crimes?"

"They considered themselves better than you."

"So you killed them."

Sasuke watched as Sakura focused her attention on Kali. Even though the anger had not left her voice it was quieter now. She had yelled at Arashi but not at this Kali person. The way she treated them reminded him of how she used to treat him and Naruto. He stared at the two men, really closely this time. Staring at them was like looking at one of those optical illusions, something in the back of his mind was telling him he was missing something.

"Sakura, just exactly who are these people?"

She stared at him for a moment as if trying to judge whether or not he was serious then she spoke.

"I would think that you would recognize Kali at least. He is after all supposed to be you."

And just like that the illusion slipped into place.

**Hi guys have you missed me. I hope you have well here is chapter 14. hope you like it. In chapter 15 the truth comes out. Please review.**


	15. Chapter 15

Sasuke

"Sakura Please tell me that you are joking."

"I wish I was."

"How …"

"Sasuke please don't ask questions. All you need to know is that all these people are just illusions. As much as they may look like people we know, they are very dangerous. We have a mission to do and we shall do it. No questions asked."

He stared at Sakura and then at the other people in the room.

_If Kali is supposed to be me, then the loud annoying one definitely had to be Naruto. But who are the rest of them._

He turned to look at all of them seeing no resemblance to people that he knew. The urge to activate his sharingan had never been stronger. If he turned it on he would be able to see through the illusion and figure out just what was going on. He glanced at Sakura, noticing the determination in the glare she flung at Kali. She wanted to do this on her own and he would not interrupt. It was the least he could do for her. But after everything was done he was going to make someone explain this mess they were in to him.

Sakura

She glared at Kali even harder. She hated that look in his eyes. The way they traveled up; and down her body made her want to scream.

"You might as well take a good look Kali it is going to be your last."

"How can you say such a thing Sakura? You know that we are meant to be together."

"I'm going to get rid of you Kali once and for all."

He smiled that sick smile that she hated so much. The one that made him look even more like Sasuke than he already did. She lowered herself into a fighting stance.

"Are you going to fight me?"

"No Kali I'm going to kill you. Don't worry it will be over before you know it. But first lets make a few adjustments"

She made a few seals and the room shifted and changed to a large field devoid of trees and she was in her ANBU uniform. Before the illusion had properly set she lunged at him.

Sasuke

He watched them as they fought.

It wasn't easy to impress Sasuke but somehow Sakura was doing it. It wasn't easy to manipulate someone else's illusion but she had done it so quickly and effortlessly. There was also something so beautiful about the way she moved. The way her body seemed to twist and contort to block blows that were raining down on her. Kali seemed to have embraced not only his looks but his fighting style as well. He was quick and every move was well planned out. But she held her own against him. It made him wonder how she would do against him in a fight. All of a sudden she flipped backwards in what seemed like an attempt to kick Kali but missed by just a hairs breath. Almost simultaneously a barrage of senbon launched themselves at the man. He barely managed to dodge when all of a sudden the needles changed direction and headed towards him again a few managed to catch the elusive man in several non vital organs.

_How did she do that?_

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he noticed that Kali had somehow managed to worm his way beside her and wrap one arm around her waist and the other held her head and hair off to the side so he could nuzzle into her neck.

The only thing that surprised him more than the rage he felt at seeing them in such an intimate position were the hands that grabbed him and prevented him from ripping that leech of Sakura.

He spun to face the person who had the gall to stop him and was pinned with two sapphire blue eyes.

"Leave them alone he won't hurt her and she can hold her own against him."

He turned back to watch the fight to see "Sakura" smile before bursting into a bevy of pink petals and Kali go flying from a kick to the back.

He smiled, proud of her new abilities.

"She is even more beautiful when she fights."

The words were so in tune with what he was thinking that he agreed out loud despite himself. It took him a moment to realize what he admitted to and then he frowned.

He turned to the man that was so similar to the only person he had ever called friend.

"Why can't you just admit that you like her?"

"What did you say?"

"You like her admit it."

"You're out of your mind and even stupider than the real Naruto."

"Hey don't get mad at me because you can't admit to how you feel about our pink haired kunoichi."

He frowned even deeper.

"Shut it"

"I would have thought that you'd be happy at least this way you know for a fact that the snake man didn't turn you off girls completely."

_Oh for Kami's sake this one is even worse than Naruto._

He glared at the man hoping to get him to shut up.

"Or maybe it was Kabuto, is he more of your type

_If this guy is supposed to be a duplicate of Naruto then ignoring his foolishness wont work. But I know what will._

And with that he lunged at him.

After fighting for what seemed like hours Sasuke had developed a whole different level of respect for Sakura. He had never fought inside an illusion before. Usually if someone somehow managed to get him into one his disposition was to counter it. Trying to mold chakra in an illusion, especially one as complex as this, was very difficult. It had taken him what had seemed an hour to mold the chakra to do a simple fire jutsu. And he had had to save that for when he really needed it. There was no guarantee that he would be able to do it twice. Sakura, on the other hand was doing a different type jutsu every time he looked in her direction. Not only was she able to do complex jutsus and illusions, she was also able to blend them into her taijutsu so it was hard to tell when one started and the other stopped. To make matters worse every once in a while her fist would hit the ground to causing huge earthquakes without warning.

_Thank Kami Arashi seems to want to watch the match more than I do otherwise it would be too difficult to concentrate on both fights._

"**Kaaaaali!!"**

The scream cut through the air like a machete spinning all heads to the fight. Sasuke turned just soon enough to watch Sakura pull down the mask that was covering her face and whisper something into the mans ear, right before she slipped the senbon in her hand into a vein in his throat. The image of the man sputtering for air as he slid down Sakura's body was burned into his mind and the way she looked down at him with a mixture of hate and disgust would haunt him for years to come.

Just then Arashi started to rush to her side, but a simple palm in the air stopped him mid journey.

Her voice was calm and even when she spoke.

"I've had enough. This time I'm ending it."

Her hands flew into a set of complex seals that Sasuke had never seen before and the world around them started to fade away.

When the last piece had gone, he found himself standing in a small room dark room, a figure lay sprawled face down on the floor.

He watched as Sakura ran to the figure and kneeling on the floor placed the mans head in her lap. She ran her palm against his chest in an imitation of the scan she had done on him that day in the hospital. While she did that he glanced at the man trying to see if he could place the familiarity of the mans face.

Her swift intake of breath alerted him to the fact that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

He walked towards her.

"He's dying."

There was a sorrow in her voice that he did not understand.

_You would think that she would despise the man that caused her so much heartache._

Suddenly the man opened his eyes to reveal silver eyes absent of pupils.

He recognized this man.

"Hyuuga Neji"

**AN: I'm so sooo sorry (runs in corner and hides from rabid readers wielding pitchforks) guys it has been a hectic few weeks but I'm finally back unofficial writing hiatus over**

**As a present I am taking votes for who Sakura will end up with, Gaara or Sasuke.**

**There should only be about two chapters left in the story and then it will be complete. So put in your votes now this is how it will work you can leave an anonymous or a signed review or an email. A signed review is two points and an anonymous one point and an email is worth half a point. Whichever has the most points wins. The ballot will end exactly two days after the next chapter goes up (sometime next week) and I will post the winner on my profile page (you can also have me email them to you if you want just leave a note in the review).**

**If there is a tie then I just _might_ write both scenarios one after the other and post them at the same time as two different stories. (I like this idea and might just do it any way since my overactive imagination is already conjuring plots for both endings)**

**But that is the end of my AN see you soon**

**Ishanatur**


	16. Chapter 16

Sakura 

"Neji, Neji please you have to stay with me ok."

"Sakura …" the way he said her name was a small moan but it encouraged her. Talking was always a good sign in the medical field.

"Neji listen to me I'm going to take care of you and then we are going back to Konoha to find a cure. You're going to be all right."

She raised her hand to use trying to heal the internal damage from all the chakra he had expended surprised when something gripped her wrist and held her hand to the floor.

"Neji what …?"

"Sakura don't?"

She looked into his eyes trying to understand why he wouldn't let her heal him.

"Why?"

"I deserve this Sakura, after everything that I've done …"

"No, you didn't do this! It was them! They did this and it's ... it's my fault. I should never have tried to …"

"No Sakura… don't blame yourself … you only wanted what was best … to make yourself stronger … I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough."

"Neji no …"

He placed a finger to her lips.

"Sakura I do not regret agreeing to help you. Those times were very special to me. You made me see past the ties my family had put on me and allowed me to feel free for the first time in my life. The only thing that I regret is not being strong enough when you needed me to be."

"Neji no… I shouldn't have asked you to…"

"Sakura please … I only have one request."

"Anything"

"Don't blame yourself … I want you to be happy … do not let this event hold you back."

"I won't, but you're going to be there to see it. I'm not going to let you die!"

"I'm sorry Sakura you don't have a choice"  
In one swift move he pushed her far enough away from him to deactivate his tenketsu.

As she scrambled to his side she watched as he mouthed the last words that she would ever hear him say.

_I love you._

And then she cried.

**AN: Okay I know I said that there would only be two chapters left but at this point I couldn't keep on writing (I personally love neji but bad things happen to good people don't worry if you are confused it will all be explained in the next chapter which SHOULD be up tomorrow or the day after at the same time (depending on what type of day I have at work) well until then**

**Kisses**

**Isha**

**PS since there are more chapters left I am leaving the polls open till the next one is up currently Gaara has a huge lead so Sasuke fans may want to try to catch up. One person said they liked my writing both idea If you want that let me know but keep in mind that I will post both endings at the same time so it will probably take longer but not too long because I already mentally have both scenarios.**


	17. Chapter 17warning lemon

**Sasuke**

He watched as the scene that unfolded before him, a mixture of anger and sorrow engulfing him, sorrow for her tears and anger at the tenderness that she had for the other man. He watched as Sakura crawled to Neji's body her hands glowing with green chakra. He watched as the tears flowed down her face, making her look once again like the child that he had once known. He watched as she began to force chakra into the dead mans body begging, pleading, screaming, demanding that he wake up. It wasn't until her fingers started to bleed that he finally intervened. The first time she shoved him away with such force that he almost fell to the ground. But he regained his composure and finally managed to pull her away from the dead man. He trapped her in his arms in an attempt to restrain her.

"Sakura you have to stop it's too late now."

"**No**! It's **_not! _** I **_have_** to help him. I **_can't_** let him die. I have to…You don't understand … He helped me. It's my fault that he's like this … if I hadn't …"

She struggled to get out, punching, scratching, clawing hoping to get out of the vice like grip that he had on her.

_For someone so small she's very strong._

He marveled once again at her strength. He pulled tighter knowing that sooner or later she would worm her way out of his grip.

"Sakura please stop I don't want to have to…"

She ignored his words continuing to thrash madly. He sighed accepting the inevitable. He grabbed her face and turned it to face his. She stilled in his arms.

"I'm sorry"

She seemed confused for a moment and then surprised, but soon all emotion left her face and her body went limp in his arms as the sharingan cleared her mind.

**Sakura**

She woke up in the inn feeling well rested. She stretched enjoying the moonlight that seemed to settle over her. For some reason she was uncomfortable.

_Why the hell am I dressed?_

She searched her surroundings finding Sasuke sleeping in a chair opposite her bed …

_Wait a minute! This isn't my …_

All of a sudden the memories flowed back into her with a force that it had her screaming and Sasuke running to her side.

He grabbed her shoulders and puller her to him whispering words in her ear that she couldn't hear.

Reliving the moments of Neji's death had her crying again. Small silent sobs that sounded like her heart was breaking. And it was. She was so distraught that when Sasuke pulled her into his lap, so he could cradle her in his arms, she let him. And when he started stroking her hair and whispering comforting words she let him do that too. So it was no surprise (at least not to her) that when he quietly ordered her "Tell me" that the words came tumbling out of her mouth.

"After you left, Naruto and Kakashi went off on training missions and I stayed in Konoha training under the Godaime. Because I was a medic I was often attached to ANBU teams. A lot of times I was in the same unit as Neji. We hung around each other quite a lot during missions and we understood each other very well. It was inevitable that we would consider each other friends. We were close enough that when he wanted to ask out TenTen he asked for my advice. He was so nervous. We were like the siblings neither of us ever had.

When he discovered that I was having trouble trying to perfect a new genjutsu he offered to help. At first I was reluctant. Genjutsus, even in their perfected form, can do horrible damage to a persons mind. But he assured me that if anything went wrong that his Byakugan would get him out of the illusion. After a while I finally agreed.

The illusion I was trying to build was on that would let your opponents mind fill in the details of the illusion. It was supposed to be a way to get information from people without torturing them. With it we wouldn't have to convince people to tell us anything we would let them do it themselves.

The first time we tried it, it worked very well. I tried something easy. I tried to get Neji to bring up someone who he knew. And it worked. He brought up Naruto, or at least the way he imagined Naruto and it was completely believable. Then we tried other people that we both knew. After lots of practice, it got to a point where I could control the characters even though it was technically an illusion that he had created for himself. I could get them to do and say what I wanted and they would say and do it the way Neji thought they would. I could pick people that Neji only had passing knowledge of and his mind would supply what he thought of them. It was a huge success.

And then one day one of the characters started to act strange. It was little things at first. It would say things that neither I nor Neji had thought of. It wasn't until the features started to change that I decided to take it to Tsunade-sishou. When we analyzed him it turned out that the characters had somehow been saved in Nejis subconscious and developed into a kind multiple personality disorder. Apparently something about his seal had caused it.

The later characters were easy to get rid of with hypnosis but it seemed to have a reverse effect on some of the earlier ones. It seemed to solidify the identity and allow it create new ones. And the personalities started showing through whether we were in the illusion or not.

At this point we took drastic measures. I went inside the illusion and "killed" the personalities and it seemed to work. He was no longer plagued by them."  
She sighed heavily.

"I guess the "_extraction_" process didn't work out as well as we hoped. Somehow the two dominant personalities Naruto and … you, must have been revived and created Ino and Sishou."

She stopped and looked up at him. Not even trying to hide the pain in her eyes.

"If I hadn't been so selfish …"

"Sakura it wasn't …"

"Don't lie to me Sasuke. It was. It's just that I wanted to see the both of you so _badly_ and it was _so_ easy. I should never have …"

"Sakura don't blame yourself."

"Why not? You were right about me Sasuke, I am weak. I can't even protect the people that I care about."

She hung her head, ashamed that she could not be strong.

"Sakura you are **not** weak, you are one of the strongest kunoichis that I know."

"That's not true I …"

She tried to speak but the tears had come again and interrupted. She shook her head, looking up at and tried again.

"I'm …."

This time she was silenced not by her sobs but by the feel of Sasuke's lips on her own.

**Sasuke**

He had listened while she told her story in silence because he wasn't even sure that she was talking to him. But when she had started on herself with self pity he suddenly couldn't be silent anymore. For the second time that day his mind had been consumed with the need to silence her. While the first time had been purely for her benefit the second had been for his. Something uncomfortable in the vicinity of where he had assumed the heart he once had (before Itachi ripped it out) shifted uncomfortably with every tear that ran down the beautiful face and he was reluctant to repeat the discomfort that he had felt when she cried. At first he had thought to use the sharingan again but the memory of her screams as the effects had worn off had stopped him. In his mind he knew that there were other ways that he could silence her but there was only way that his treacherous brain could come up with and his body had agreed heartily. It had seemed like a good idea. So he did it, his instincts had never been wrong before.

The minute his lips touched hers and she froze into a solid block his brain backtracked and accepted that this was a bad idea, instincts be damned. His body however was slower on the uptake and it took over trying to coax a reaction out of her. His hands pulled tighter around her waist and his tongue darted out to lick at her bottom lip.

Just as he convinced his treacherous body parts that this was a terrible idea she kissed him back and this time he froze, pulling away from her.

"Sakura …"

"Please Sasuke … please … help me forget … I don't want to think about it any more. I _need_ to forget."

He watched her face as she spoke. Entranced by the movements of her lips and moved by the pain written all over her face. Everything in his being was begging him to kiss her again but he held firm. He tried to rationalize the reasons why he shouldn't kiss her when she was sitting in his lap, looking so tempting in that dress and begging him to kiss her. In the end he didn't get the chance to choose because her hands ran up the inside of his shirt and she nibbled seductively in his ear and all his hard earned self control suddenly blew away.

**AN: if you are not okay with reading lemons stop here end of chapter. If you are okay with then please carry on. **

He pulled her face towards him and kissed her with a desire that he had not known was in him. He placed his hands on her hips and turned her so she straddled his hips, the movement caused the fabric of his pants to rub against his groin and he moaned quietly at the pleasure it brought him. He reached his hands around her dragging his fingers up her back and tracing the nape of her neck with his fingers, smiling when she shivered at the touch. He reached his hands into her hair and pulled it free from the bun that it was so tightly wrapped in. It cascaded down her back filling his hands and spilling over in soft waves. He ran his fingers through it loving the way it felt in his hands. Suddenly she rolled her hips in his lap causing sparks to fly all the way from his groin to his toes and back again. He used the handfuls of hair to angle her head so he could run kisses down the line of her jaw and throat. When he got to her collar bone he released her hair and used his hands to slide the dress inch by inch of her shoulders. As each new patch of skin was revealed to his gaze he set to work on covering it with his mouth. By the time the dress gave way to reveal her breasts she was moaning, threading her hands through his hair and trying to get him to hurry. He smiled against her skin, pleased by her impatience.

"Sasuke please …"

The hoarse whisper of his name on her lips drove him on and he pulled one rosy pink nipple into his mouth. The moan that tumbled out of her throat made his entire lower half tingle and he rubbed his straining erection against her. Suddenly her hands were pulling his shirt above his head and her mouth was copying the path that he had just created on her body on his. When she licked at his own nipple he almost bit his tongue off to suppress the moan. He grabbed her and flipped her around so they were laying on the bed her body beneath him. He watched her face for a split second before kissing her, his hands cupping her breasts, before moving down to peel the dress and panties of her body. When they were gone and she was completely naked beneath him he couldn't help but stare. Her body was perfect. From the curve of her breasts to the dip in her hip to the flat planes of her stomach and the legs that seemed to go on forever. He felt like he should be worshipping her. Then the thought that he would probably never again be able to look at her like this hit him and certain sadness fell over him. But soon that was swept away by the lust burning in her eyes as she reached up to pull him toward her. The feel of her breasts against his nude chest drove him to distraction and the way one leg was curled around him effectively pining him to her was like torture. He slipped his hand between their bodies to touch the heat that was radiating from her core. As his fingers ghosted over her entrance she moaned arching her hips up and off the bed. He smiled to himself loving the way her body responded to his touch. He placed his mouth on her nipple as he played with her entrance teasing her with both caresses.

"Ohhhh …"

The moan was winded and he watched her face as her eyes fluttered closed and her lips stayed partly open.

"What do you want Sakura?"

"I want …"

She moaned again as he lapped at her nipple and teased her clitoris with his finger.

"Go on …"

"I …"

"_Please"_

He smiled to himself, loving the sound of her begging for his touch. But he needed more he wanted to hear her say his name in that breathless tome but he complied by taking her nipple fully into his mouth and sucking on it as she squirmed beneath him his fingers still barely touching her.

"More …"

He wanted to burn himself into her memory. He wanted to make sure that when she closed her eyes it was his face she saw. He crawled up her body until they were face to face.

"Say my name Sakura, Open your eyes and tell me exactly what you would like me to do."

Her eyes fluttered open and she held his gaze for a second before closing them.

"Sasuke _please_ I need you to touch me."

He grinned to himself finally succumbing and slipping a finger slowly into her depths, watching as her back arched almost completely off the bed and her inner walls clamped around his fingers. The look on her face was divine. He was halfway down on his way to kiss her when he noticed that somehow she had snuck her hands between them and was now removing what was left of his clothing. He gasped when her fingers wrapped around him and moved up and down at a pace that was so slow he almost went crazy. "Sakura …"

He growled out her name in warning, trying to let her know that she was making him lose his mind. Suddenly she twisted so that he was under her and she was floating above him so that he was just touching her entrance. Slowly she lowered herself onto him torturing him with every inch. He was going to go crazy if she kept up this pace. He sat up trying to upset her balance and grabbed her by the waist, forcing her onto him in a way that had her screaming his name.

_God I love this woman._

The thought popped into head unbidden and his entire body froze. He had every intention of pulling her off him when all of a sudden she rolled her hips in a way that drove all rational thought from his mind. All that mattered was the beautiful woman on his lap. He pulled her closer, kissing her with every fiber of his being, before flipping her until she was beneath him again. In this position he drove himself in and out of her trying to memorize every inch of her.

"_Oh God …Sasuke_"

He wanted her to come screaming his name, to wipe the thought of anything but him from her mind. He picked up the pace.

"Come for me Sakura"

And when he slipped his hand between them to rub gently on her clit, she did.

Still he kept going intent on pleasuring her until he was permanently tattooed on her body and in her mind. It had taken all his control not to let himself go after her first orgasm, by the second it was almost impossible. On the third he let the pleasure take him.

**Sakura**

She watched as Sasuke's legendary self control splintered, cracked and disappeared right before her eyes.

_He really is a beautiful man. _

She marveled once again at his stamina. All she could do was collapsed onto the bed as her body was ransacked with wave after wave of pleasure. She was just drifting off into sleep when she felt Sasuke pull her into the crook of his arm, wrapping himself around her like a blanket. Too worn out to resist she let him cuddle her. And as she drifted off to sleep she almost missed the soft murmur in her hair. She probably would have missed it if someone else hadn't muttered the exact same words in the exact same way to her before. Except this time the words filled her last waking moments with dread. And she hoped she had heard wrong. After all Uchiha Sasuke couldn't really love her. Could he?


	18. Chapter 18

**Sasuke**

He woke up with an empty feeling. He had slept well, in a way that he hadn't slept in a long time. He had slept in a way that he imagined civilians slept, the sleep of people who don't have to worry about every breath being their last. He hadn't slept like that since before Itachi had gone crazy. The fact that he had felt so comfortable worried him. He turned to the side to grasp the woman who had had such a mind numbing effect on him and noticed that she was gone. Instead of a warm body, there was a dispassionate note.

"**_We leave for Konoha at 11.00 am sharp. I assume that if you did not take care of the corpse the Hyuuga seal would have. Our mission is complete."_**

He stared at the note in amazement.

_Not only did I sleep hard enough to not notice when she left, I also did not notice when she left the note. I must be slipping._

He glanced at the note swearing softly to himself, promising hours of training. He glanced at the clock in the room, the blinking light very kindly informing him that it was 10.52am. Shock washed through him once more. Waking up comfortable had been one thing, waking up; past sunrise hadn't been something that he had done even when he was a child. He rolled out of bed heading as quickly as he could to the shower.

Ten Minutes Later

He walked out into the hallway to the clerks' desk. He had checked Sakuras room first, but the placed had looked like no one had lived there in months much less hours. When he got to the desk Sakura was standing there waiting. She glanced at the clock and then at him in a move Sasuke could only decipher as her reprimanding him for being late before spinning on her heel and walking out the building.

_So she wants to pretend that nothing happened._

He glanced at the clerk who was looking at him with a smirk, as if laughing at him and a quiet anger filled his mind.

_Fine, two can play that game._

When he joined her outside she glanced once more in his general direction as if to ascertain that he was actually following and then sped off in the direction they had come from.

Hours Later

The journey back from Konoha had been trying at best. For even someone who was naturally of little words, Sasuke had found the silence trying. He had even gotten to the point where he was wishing for Naruto's presence to break the mood. It wasn't that he couldn't handle silence. It was the fact that in the silence, the boredom was forcing images of the time they had spent the night before into his mind. Scenes so startlingly clear that he had almost fallen out of one of the trees.

He sighed realizing that he wanted to share that experience again with the woman before him but also knowing that it would probably never happen. However, the more he watched her dart through the trees the more he realized that he needed to settle things between them. He needed to talk to her and even he didn't know what he was going to say.

It took him about five minutes to realize that Sakura was very skillfully avoiding him(less actually but it wasn't until then that he was ready to accept it as something other that a coincidence). No matter what he did she was just out of reach for conversation. Close enough to see but far enough to only contact via shouting. If he sped up so did she and if he slowed down she did too until she reached an "acceptable range." She did all this without turning around to check on him once and he once again marveled at how much she had grown in his absence. The girl he had left behind hadn't been able to sense the killing intent of someone as murderous as Zabuza but the woman who he came back to easily tracked the movements of someone who had spent most of their life moving quietly in and out of shadows. He was proud of her. His pride however was short lived as he soon grew disgruntled with the fact that she was using her new found skills on him.

She didn't start walking next to him until they were almost a stones throw from Konoha's gates and even then she kept a healthy distance, knowing full well that he would not try to talk to her while so close to gossiping shinobi and citizens and that once the mission officially over she could go back to avoiding him with a vengeance and he was unwilling to let that happen. He was going to make her fall into her own trap. He knew that she also would not make a scene in public and he used that fact to his advantage.

As they walked through the gates he touched her shoulder, saying in a voice low enough that only she could hear but keeping his eyes on the road in front of them.

"We need to talk."

She didn't even glance at him when she answered.

"Later"

He nodded softly, knowing that she had no intention of keeping her word.

He followed her all the way to the Hokage's office were she dropped off her mission report without even speaking before walking out the door as quickly as she could without raising eyebrows.

He caught her halfway home speeding through the streets as if something was on fire. He couldn't catch up until she actually got to her house and she turned to watch him approach her.

"What do you want? Maybe you didn't notice but the mission is over Uchiha."

He almost winced at the anger in her voice and the formal way she addressed him. He almost turned back but then his treacherous brain started feeding him images of the way she had said his name when she was in his arms and he pressed on.

"We need to talk"

"There is nothing to talk about."

He stepped closer to her invading her personal space and backing her up until her back hit the wall with his two arms on either side of her head trapping her between the door and her body. He lowered his head until his lips brushed her earlobe and reveled in the sound of her breath catching and her body tensing.

"Actually I think we have a lot to talk about."

He didn't know what reaction he had been expecting, but it was definitely not the one she gave him. A part of him had expected her to fight back but instead she sighed and agreed quietly in a way that was uncharacteristic of the woman she had become.

"All right fine we'll talk …"

She raised her head and her shoulders seemed to slump in defeat. He reached to open the door behind and she grabbed his wrist, eyes meeting his in a way that was so openly pleading it almost broke his heart.

"Please Sasuke not now. I promise we can talk about it tomorrow. Right now all I want is to go to sleep."

He looked at her trying to decipher if she was telling the truth and all he could see was a weariness that was almost contagious.

"Fine tomorrow we talk."

She nodded softly and he turned to leave vanishing without a sound to his own home.

**Naruto**

He had spent his days fretting, worried about his two favorite people. When he had heard the Hokage had sent them on a mission together he had been relieved at first, hoping it would provide an opportunity for the two to bond. He knew that the chances that the two would be friendly towards each other were slim but he couldn't help but be optimistic, it was just his nature. When he had managed to squeeze the details of their mission out of the old hag all his optimism had simply vanished. He could still remember the way Sakura had kept trying to revive her deceased teammates and how hard she had cried as they had pulled them away from their lifeless forms. He had also remembered that after that moment he had never seen her cry again. He looked around the training grounds that he had used to distract himself from his worry and get rid of all the nervous energy he had. The poor field looked liked several natural disasters had hit and he decided that if he practiced anymore then someone would probably demand that he make it right again and it was already getting dark. He would practice earth style jutsus tomorrow and at least attempt to return the place to normal. He was too exhausted for strenuous work now.

He headed to his apartment in town not feeling much better than he had when he had left for the training grounds. At his apartment he found a small note on the door.

"**_Back from mission, exhausted, heading to Suna early tomorrow, need sleep, will see you soon"_**

Under it there were two free lunch coupons to Ichiraku. He grinned to himself, his worry dissipating like fog in sunlight. He made mental notes to drag Sasuke with him.

**Sasuke**

Sasuke woke up to a loud banging noise on his door. He groaned, grabbing his pillow and stuffing it over his head hoping to block out the sounds of what could only be Naruto. The sound continued to filter through into his head aggravating his headache even more. He jumped out of bed cursing the blond and promising him hours of pain to come.

He yanked open the door and sure enough there was the blond bouncing up and down like a kid with a new toy.

"What the hell do you want?"

At the gruff greeting Naruto calmed for a moment took one glance at him and proclaimed:

"Sasuke you look like crap"

He slammed the door in his face and started heading back to bed while Naruto let himself in.

"Holy shit Sasuke what did you do?"

He turned to the man he called his best friend wondering what he was talking about and notice the man was staring at the floor. He glanced down and saw the sake bottles that littered his floor. Something of the surprise must of shown on his face.

"Sasuke, I don't know whether to be more worried that you drank this much or the fact that you left the evidence everywhere. What happened to anal Sasuke who had coronaries if there were specks of dust in his home?"

He growled at the man willing him to stop talking.

"Mission was tough huh."

He glared at him hoping the man would get the message.

"Care to tell me."

"No"

"Are you sure?"

He tossed him an "are you crazy look" and the man held up his hands in defeat.

"So-rry."

"What do you want anyway, asides from torturing me that is?"

The man grinned that same grin that he had had since they were genin and dug in his pockets. Finding what he was looking for he presented it to Sasuke.

"Wanna come along? It'll be my treat"

Sasuke looked at him suspiciously. Naruto never offered to treat, especially not ramen.

"What! Cant a guy _offer_ his friend some lunch when said friend is obviously having a bad day."

"No …What's the catch?"

"Jeez you're such a cynical bastard. No catch I just figured since Sakura-chan was treating me I should return the favor to someone less fortunate. And you my friend …"

He gazed pointedly round the room.

"… are obviously less fortunate."

His heart almost stopped when he heard her name.

"Sakura is coming?"

He tried to make the question light and if he failed Naruto didn't seem to notice.

"Sheesh don't start that again. I thought that you guys would have had some bonding time on your mission."

Images of just how much they had bonded jumped into Sasuke's mind and he had to pretend to pick up bottles to hide the expression on his face. If Naruto knew he had a thing for Sakura then the idiot would never let him live it down. He was so preoccupied with hiding his secret that he almost missed the rest of his friends comment.

" … but I guess you don't have to worry about trying to avoid her because she's coming."

He spun around so fast that he was almost dizzy.

"Why not?"

Naruto tossed him a strange look.

"Had better things to do I guess"

"Better things?"

"You do know she has a boyfriend don't you?"  
He didn't think the low growling sound had come from him until the blonde gave him a funny look.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

He turned and walked out of the room, hoping like hell this wasn't one of Naruto's observant days. He hadn't taken two steps when Naruto's voice interrupted.

"This is about her isn't it?"

He hesitated for only a second but it was enough.

"Sasuke you might want to tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened"

"Sure it didn't and that's why you can't look me in the face when you say that."

This time, when he growled he was fully aware of it and knew exactly who it was meant for.

"Nothing happened"

Naruto's brows furrowed momentarily and then his eyes widened as large as they would go.

"Oh my God you had sex with Sakura"

_Shit_

Sometimes Naruto's less than conventional intelligence saved lives and other times they just made him miserable. Today it was definitely making him miserable. He sank into a chair as he watched Naruto pace and throw him odd looks.

"So how was it?"

He shrugged, the last thing he wanted to do was remember how Sakura had looked …and smelled … and tasted and felt … and ….

"That good huh"

He glared at his friend but decided to trust him.

"Better".

"Wow"

"Yeah"

"So …?"

"So … what"

"So do you love her?"

"… I … I …"

He turned away from his blonde friend, wishing he didn't have to admit it. Expressing emotional attachment was not something that he was good at. He sighed.

"I think so."

"What do you mean you think so?!"

"I just … look it's complicated."  
"No Sasuke this is one of the simplest things in the world. Either you love her or you don't."

He _really_ hated it when Naruto was insightful.

"No I don't love her."  
Naruto glared at him, suspicion written all over his face and then he slipped into a smile.

_This can only end badly_.

"So if you really don't love her then how about answering a couple of questions."

"Fine, whatever jollies your ranchers. Ask away."

Naruto laughed.

"So answer me this "What does her smile look like?""

He looked at the man like he was crazy and then suddenly an image of her at the ramen shop flooded into his mind.

"Sasuke …?"

"I don't know"

This time it was Naruto who growled.

"Sasuke"

His name came out as a threat.

He sighed, the last thing he wanted to do was fight.

"The corners of her lips turn up ever so slightly and you can tell that she is amused or pleased at something but it doesn't reach her eyes like it used to when we were kids. _Then_ her smile could light up solar systems, now she just looks like she's wearing a mask that doesn't belong to her."

He glanced at Naruto and he seemed satisfied with his answer.

"Next question, what does she look like when she cries?"

This one was easy.

"When she cries …." He felt the thing in his chest tighten again. "When she cries, she doesn't bawl or scream like she used to..." he sighed "I hate it when women cry."

This time he didn't even look at Naruto, he was too concerned with trying to rid himself of the image of Sakura crying.

"All right third question. Can you see her in another mans bed"

His mind flashed to the scene of Gaara holding her in his arms, kissing her like he had the right to touch her. He didn't even notice his sharingan activate.

"Wow"

He deactivated it to glance at his friend.

"What?"

"My poor friend I regret to inform you that you don't love her."

He sighed, relief washing over him.

"It's much worse than that."

He glared at his friend.

"What could be worse than that?"  
Naruto got up and walked to a window settling on the window sill he turned to his friend.

"Sasuke you don't love her, you're **_in_** love with her."

Sasuke thought about it for a while measured the violent anger that he felt at the thought of any one touching her or making her smile and weighed it against the tight feeling in his chest when he saw her cry. He didn't completely agree with Naruto but he couldn't completely discredit the mans words either. He glanced back at his friend noting the thoughtful expression on his face and the way he flopped down into the chair opposite him.

"Well at least this makes sense."

"What makes sense?"

He watched Naruto watch him as if trying to decide whether to tell him something.

"I thought it was strange that Sakura had insisted that I take you to lunch."

"She did, did she?" He smirked.

_Glad to know that I'm not the only one bothered by this._

"Yeah, it was strange. Why would she care what you did for lunch when she's not even here?"

He stumped at that one.

"What do you mean she's not here?"

"She left for Suna, I would have said this morning but I stopped by her house and nothing had been touched. So I'm guessing she left right after you guys returned from your mission."

"I have to find her"

"I can't let you do that Sasuke."

He glared at his friend.

"Why not?"

"First of all if I let you any where near the gates granny Tsunade will personally skin me alive."

"So you pretend that you don't know."

"That's not the only reason."

"So what's the problem? Are you still in love with her or something?"

Naruto laughed. "Nah! that ship sailed a long time ago Sakura is like a sister to me, which is precisely why I cant let you go."

"Why not?"

"Gaara is the best thing that's happened to Sakura in a long time. Before him she barely used to smile. I am not letting you risk both their happiness just because you've convinced yourself you love her. You're too good at walking out and leaving people behind."

Something about the way they said it made Sasuke realize that he had never apologized for leaving. Somehow he had just taken it for granted that the boy knew he was sorry. Naruto was so cheerful and optimistic that it was easy to forget that he was a much deeper person than that.

_I guess I have some things to sort out here first._

He looked at the barely suppressed look of hurt and suspicion on Naruto's face.

_This may take a while._

_**AN: Okay one more chapter after this. I should be putting it up Saturday or Friday because I really want to be done with this story before my flight to Nigeria where I will be for two weeks and I can guarantee nothing will be posted from there. So hopefully you'll review to inspire me but gotta go its six in the morning**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Gaara**

He watched her as she stood by the sink rinsing off the dishes from dinner. She had been like this for months, mind completely absorbed in her tasks refusing to open up until last night. Last night when she had told him.

_I slept with him Gaara, I'm sorry._

He wasn't even really angry. A part of him had known that it would happen. That particular mission had made her emotionally unstable and she had needed someone. And he saw the way the Uchiha bastard looked at her. She had looked so destroyed at her admission and yet so ready to face whatever rage he would emit that he had been overwhelmed with a desire to comfort her. Even for him it had been impossible to be angry.

He watched her. Even now she was still withdrawn. But he knew that with time that he could get her to go back to her old self as long as he could keep her away from the Uchiha.

He got up from his seat on the couch and walked over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He ignored the way her body tensed and her grip tightened on the plate in her hand. It was worth it to feel the way she relaxed in his arms when he whispered a small I love you into her ear.

She turned around slowly and looked him in the eyes, smiling softly at what she saw there. A look of determination flitted across her face and she nodded.

"I love you too."  
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. It was the first time she has said the words since she returned.

He manipulated his sand to rip up a small official looking form located one of his pockets and pull a small velvet box out of another. One thing was for certain, he was never letting that slimy bastard near her again.

**Sasuke**

He had never felt so worthless in his life. Everywhere he turned people were telling him to leave Sakura alone. That she deserved better and that Gaara made her happy and that they were good for each other. Everyone who so much as heard (most of the rookie nine) they had gone on a mission together and that she had left as soon as they had gotten back into Konoha without saying a word to anyone jumped to conclusions about what had happened on the mission. Even the Hyuuga girl had been dropping cryptic hints about what would happen to anyone who disturbed Sakura's peace of mind and how anything she did would probably have been pardoned due to the fact that she was still mentally unbalanced since her cousins' death. It would have been very scary had she not burst into tears and run off as soon as the words left her mouth.

He sighed. Naruto had been just as much trouble. The idiot had poked and prodded about his intentions with Sakura and when he finally realized that all Sasuke wanted to do was talk to the kunoichi he had finally agreed to help him. It had taken even longer to convince the Hokage that he was trustworthy and had no intentions on Sakura. He was just about to give up when Naruto informed him a mission to Suna was coming up. Apparently some rogue Konoha ninja needed to be picked up and ANBU was needed to track them down and bring them home. It had been a last minute decision to add his name onto the list of people who were to head to the area under the guise of attending some ceremony and he wondered what had made the Hokage change her mind. He shook his head realizing that he didn't care. All that mattered was that he was going to see Sakura again and that this time they would figure this out once and for all.

**AN; Please dont hurt me I promise that I will update more often I still love you guys and killing me only means that you dont get to see the end of the story**

**PS I think it really ironic that in this story Gaara is the "nice guy"  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**Naruto**

Naruto watched the footsteps in the sand indicating where he and Sasuke had parted ways. It worried him to no end that Sasuke was coming and he still didn't know if he had made the right choice. Questioning himself was not something that he usually did but it seemed to be the norm when it came to anything regarding Sasuke. It may have been a mistake smuggling the Uchiha to Suna and he knew that Gaara may never forgive him if he found out that he had anything to do with it. It was such a tough decision to make, putting one of his friends' happiness in front of another. But when it came down to it, it was Kakashi who had given him the insight to make the decision. He had said that if Sakura and Gaara were truly meant for each other then there was nothing that Sasuke could say or do to change Sakura's mind. Even though he had agreed with the one eyed man he still felt guilty about throwing a wrench in the happiness of his friends. Looking up to the sky he sighed.

_Hopefully this mess will work out itself._

**Sasuke**

He smirked as he walked into the gates of Suna in disguise. Apparently the Kazekage had not agreed to approve the mission until his name was removed from the list.

_So the great and powerful Sabaku no Gaara is intimidated by little old me._

The knowledge that the man thought he was a threat warmed his soul on one hand and filled him with dismay on the other.

_Does that mean that she told him?_

He pondered the options. If she had told him what had happened between them then it would explain why Gaara was so obstinate that he not come. On the other hand they had never seen eye to eye before and, according to Naruto, the man probably had some knowledge about how he felt about her. Apparently Gaara was very good at deciphering peoples' emotions (something that had been proven during the Chuunin Exams). So there was the possibility that he was just being cautious.

He sighed, glancing at the monolith in front of him. The huge building had a sign that said "hospital". Sakura would probably spend her days here. He refused to think where she would be spending her nights. As the thought crossed his mind the door to the building opened and Sakura came walking out carrying an armful of files.

He had forgotten just how beautiful she was.

He stood transfixed as she struggled with the awkward stack of files, emotions of impatience jumping across her face. When she had them all balanced, a small kitten that had been waiting patiently in a nearby alley walked up to her and mewled, intertwining itself in her feet. She looked down at the animal and smiled.

_God I love that smile._

She made a small tilting motion with her head. She must have been familiar with the animal because seeing the motion made it leap to her waist and make a beeline to her shoulder, where it proceeded to make itself comfortable and rub its cheek along Sakura's neck. The movement made both human and feline purr in content.

"Did you miss me?"

For a moment Sasuke thought she was talking to him. But her attention was focused on the kitten. The animals' response was to rub its nose against hers, which elicited laughter from the roseate haired kunoichi. The laughter stopped abruptly and she turned to look directly at him, a small frown gracing her features. At first he thought she recognized him but she shook her head almost imperceptibly before nodding a greeting at him and going her way, pink braid bouncing off the top of her bottom hypnotizing him with its rhythmic sway.

Whatever his doubts had been before, seeing her cemented the idea in his head, he wanted her. And whatever Uchiha's wanted they always got.

**Sakura**

She walked into the house and dropped the files on the table. She headed to the fridge to get a saucer of milk for Tabitha. The kitten had grown really attached to her and they were always together. The only time that they were apart was when she went to the hospital. She had explained very calmly to the animal that she could not follow her into the hospital because it was unsanitary. The cat had tilted its head to the side as if questioning the meaning of the word and she had explained in easier terms. She giggled remembering the day it had happened. Gaara had thought that she was crazy! But sure enough when she had walked to the hospital the kitten had followed her all the way there and stopped as if remembering their conversation. Then she had leapt into a nearby tree and sat there until the end of the day. She was an amazing animal. Rubbing Tabitha's neck, she walked to the training grounds, thinking about the day that she had had. She had sworn that when she had come out of the hospital gates she had felt a familiar chakra, a very familiar chakra. If she hadn't known better, she would have said that she had felt Sasuke's presence. But she did know better. Sasuke wouldn't be stupid enough to come to Suna. And even if he was that stupid neither kage would ever let him leave Konoha or enter Suna. Gaara would probably kill him before he could get near the gates. Besides there was no reason for Sasuke to come to Suna. It wasn't like he felt anything but lust for her, right. He didn't really mean what he had said to her that night. They were just caught in the moment.

_He doesn't love me._

_**You know no matter how many times you say it it won't make it true.**_

She sighed at her Inner voice. It seems that that facet of her personality had grown more mature with time and it annoyed her to no end.

_Aren't you supposed to be on my side?_

_**This isn't about sides and you know it.**_

_You know what? it doesn't even matter. Sasuke would not come to Suna even if anyone allowed it. Of all things he is not stupid._

_**You're looking at this from the wrong angle. Sasuke may not be stupid but he is stubborn remember the whole Itachi thing. If that man wants something bad enough he will do anything to get it. And since when did Sasuke ever need permission to do something?**_

_Shit._

**_Shit is right. And it doesn't even matter if he thinks he loves you. If he wants you to talk to you and everyone says he cant, he will probably take it as a personal challenge._**

_Double Shit._

_**And you know the worst part? Exactly what do you think is going to happen when Gaara finds out that he is here?**_

_Damn._

_**Yep.**_

_I have to find him._

She glanced around sharply, trying to figure out where she should start her search but was cut short when she felt a small twinge of the chakra she was looking for. She smirked. For once luck was on her side.

"Come out Sasuke. There's no point in hiding anymore."

**AN Ok Im so sorry for all the non updates its been really stressfull with me in my final semester of college i cant wait to graduate YAY May 12th so if any of you are in the jefferson city missouri area and want to stop by you are totally welcome**

**PS it is my birthday this weekend (APr 14th) so it would be a really nice present to get lots of reviews. (hint hint wink wink ;-)  
**


	21. Chapter 21

**Sasuke**

_How had she?_

He had been masking his chakra almost perfectly. He had even using an illusion to blend in with the surrounding trees. He walked out slowly, trying to suppress his surprise.

"Hello Sakura"

"What are you doing here Sasuke?"

"We have to talk."

"No we don't. I don't want to have anything to do with you."

"Sakura, we need to talk about what happened when…"

"Nothing happened."

In a flash he was next to her, close enough that he could see all the flecks of emotion in her eyes. Close enough that he could see from her body language that she wanted to take a step back, but she wouldn't. He bent over to whisper in her ear, pushing the small wisps of hair out of the way, but not taking his hand away. He was close enough to touch her, but he knew that if he did she would bolt, so he didn't. He lowered his voice, the way he always did when he was trying to get a womans' attention.

"I could remind you exactly what happened."

Her body leaned in, so that the hand that was grazing her chin touched her face. He couldn't help it, he smirked. And that small movement of his lips was enough to wake her out of her stupor. She took a step back, but he flashed behind her so quickly that she bumped into him in her hurry to get away. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his body effectively trapping her. The stillness in her body ended and she started thrashing wildly in an effort to get away.

"I could remind you exactly what happed. I could remind exactly what you said and how it felt. You can't tell me that nothing happened, because what happened is written all over you. Each struggle is a reminder of what happened."

His words had the desired effect and she stilled in his arms. He turned her to face him, still keeping her close enough so she could not bolt.

He looked down into her face. The dark green eyes filled with tears.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

It hurt him to see the tears. He wanted to stop but he couldn't. He needed her to know. He needed to know that he had a chance, that this thing with Gaara (and the very thought of him almost made him snarl) would end.

He tilted her face up leaning in to the temptation of her lips.

"Why do you keep doing this to me Sasuke? Why are so determined to hurt me? Isn't it enough that I loved you Sasuke? Cant I love anyone else?"

He was close enough now that her words came as warm breath across his own lips and the temptation was too much. He kissed her.

The way she stilled at first hurt him but he kept on coaxing a reaction out of her, trying to get her to respond. He nibbled softly at her bottom lip and she sighed almost inaudibly. He took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, slanting his mouth over hers and reveling in the feeling of her mouth against his.

"I just want to talk Sakura."

He slid his hands down her arms, past the slim wrist and in an effort to grasp the hands that he had seen obliterate stone, but somewhere along the way his hand got caught on something hard on one of her fingers. He pulled the arm up to glare at the offending item, a ring, a small one with a pink diamond that was shaped like a sakura petal.. It looked like the kind of thing that a mother would give and he could almost let himself believe that if it weren't for the small etchings that wound around the gold band that were clearly grains of sand.

He dropped the hand as if burned, rage filling him. How dare she! She was his! How dare she make that kind of promise to someone else?! And she let him make a fool of himself!

He stepped back from her.

"When were you going to tell me?"

"In Konoha"

"Do you mean before or after you ran away"

"I did not run away."

"So telling me that we were going to talk and then coming here before we had the chance to, was what exactly … a strategic retreat?"

Her eyes hardened.

"So when exactly did this happen?"

Her silence was all the answer that he needed.

"So what happened between us was what exactly? Was that some last minute fling so you could get it out of your system? Or do you go around fucking every male that you go on a mission with?"

Her mouth slid open with what he was sure was disbelief. She shut it closed quickly, the set of her eyes and mouth revealing her anger.

Then she smiled. A cold bitter smile similar to the ones that she gave him when he first came back.

"Does Tsunade know that you broke parole?"

'Don't change the subject Sakura."

"She doesn't does she?"

"Sakura…"

"You do know that this is going to make it harder for her to argue keeping you alive."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You _do_ know that the council wants you executed as a traitor."

"They wouldn't"

"Really …?" this time _she_ moved closer to him. "… tell me exactly why wouldn't they? After all you not only ran away from Konoha, but you were directly responsible for the almost fatal injuries of some of our years finest, including a Hyuuga, a Nara, an Akimichi, an Aburame _and_ an Inuzuka, …"

she listed them off on her fingers as if counting.

"… all of whom have family members on the council. Also in the process you fatally injured Naruto, someone who the village has come to respect as the Hokage in training. Not only did you run away, you went to a man that was hell bent on destroying Konoha. And maybe that could have been forgiven since you killed him. But killing him was a double edged sword …" She had gotten close enough that she couldn't have gotten any closer without touching him so instead she started to circle him, giving him thoughtful and appraising looks. "…you betrayed _him_ as well. You killed the man who taught you everything so that you may achieve the goal that drove you for so long. No one knows if you even know the meaning of the word loyalty. And now that you've achieved that goal… after all you said it yourself. You're the only one who could kill him. We needed the sharingan to defeat one of the slurs against Konohas' good name. And you did that. Now the council has to evaluate whether or not you are so valuable that they can overlook the madness that seem to run in the veins of the Uch…"

"Don't say another word Sakura"

She looked down to see his hands around her throat and winced from the splinters she must have gotten from the force with which he had slammed her against the tree.

"And now you've gone and attacked the Godaime's prized apprentice. Tsk …tsk …Sasuke, what are we going to do with you? You keep following this self-destructive pattern and it's going to be harder and harder for the psych ward to declare you sane, loyal and able to complete missions. Face it Sasuke, by a series of bad decisions you have probably been just as effective at destroying the Uchihas as your brother."

His hands tightened around her throat.

"Don't ever talk about my family again Sakura"

"And if I did … what would you do Sasuke? Would you try to kill me just like you tried to do with Naruto? Will you have the same epic battle with me?"

She hung her head.

"Probably not. You would never waste your time with weak, pathetic little Sakura. After all I never meant anything to you. You never developed that bond with me. I was barely even a teammate to you. I was just an annoying little girl."

"Sakura I…"

Her voice was quiet.

"Sasuke let me go"

"You did…"

All of a sudden he was ripped away from her by a stupendous force and brought face to face with Gaara of the Sand.

"She said let her go."

And just as quickly he was flung into a very unyielding tree.

He woke up to Sakura's voice, she was speaking in low hushed tones, clearly arguing with someone. He could not hear what she was saying and he opened his mouth to yell at her, anything to get her to shut up and get out of his room. He was tired and the last thing he needed was her trying to baby him. His train of thought was interrupted by another voice, this time slightly less quiet and a lot angrier.

"No…"

He was slow to open his eyes, trying to catch what they were saying.

"Why are you taking care of him?"

The voice was laced with anger.

"It's my job, Gaara."

"It's your job in Konoha, let the Suna medics take care of him."

"If the Suna medics take care of him then you will have to report to the Hokage that he is here."

"And…?"

"And if you report him then the council will have more than enough reason to execute him."

"…"

"Well I know you don't care if he dies but think what Naruto would do if he finds out that you had anything to do with his death."

There was a small growl and then, "…Fine, just get him out of my village." There was a sound like her sticking her tongue out at something and then

"Baka!"

And then room was quiet save for a small sigh and the sound of footsteps towards him. He felt rather than saw her crumple into the seat beside him.

"I'm not leaving."

"Eep!"

The sound of her falling out of her chair in surprise gave him a sick sense of satisfaction. The way that he had never been able to surprise her annoyed him. He sat up and extended his hand in an offer to help her up. She scowled at it, but grabbed it any way and pulled herself up.

"I'm guessing you feel mighty proud of yourself, scaring me like that."

"Why Sakura-chan what would make you say that?"

She glared at him as she plopped herself into the chair next to the bed.

"You mean apart from the fact that you are grinning like Naruto at a free ramen buffet."

He laughed, and she looked at him surprised.

"What?"

"I didn't know you even knew how to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Laugh, I thought Uchiha Sasuke would be way to cool to do something as human as laugh."

He scowled.

"See now that's the Uchiha Sasuke we all know and love."

She reached in and poked him in the middle of his head. Reflex made him grab her wrist and she looked up at him quizzically.

He relaxed his grip.

"So how about you? What happened to the Sakura we all knew and loved?"

Her eyes softened with sadness.

"She grew up."

He grasped her hand.

"We want her back Sakura, we miss her."

She glanced away from his gaze.

"I know, but I don't think she is ever coming back."

"That's not true."

Her head snapped to him, staring at him like he was crazy.

"Sometimes, when you're with Naruto or …with ..with…. _Him_, she comes back."

He lay back down tired. The realization had hit him somewhere during the argument and he had realized that for once Naruto was right. She did seem a lot more like her old self when she was with Gaara. He didn't like it, but he was an Uchiha and Uchiha's changed what they didn't like about the world. He had made her act like her old self once and he'd be damned if he couldn't do it again. Even if it meant yielding just a little.

"Go to him, Sakura, but remember this. Konoha is your home. No matter what you've done or where you go it will be your home. There are people there who love you and none of us will let you leave without a fight. That's my promise of a lifetime."

**AN: Okay once again I apologize for not uploading for several million years I deserved to be hung up by my tonsils and tickled with dusting feathers …but if you did that then you would not get another chappie giggles evilly in the corner But on the other hand there is someone who you should thank for getting me back on track with this story and that is…**

**drum roll**

**The envelope please…**

**Lady Hanaka , an awesome writer who was kind enough to read my work so thank you to her.  
**

**Also thanks to all the wonderful people who read my work and reviewed, waited patiently for me to update. I really appreciate it and will try to update again as soon as possible.**

**Love you,**

**Ciao**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: If you would like to be my BETA then read the authors note at the end.**

She walked slowly taking her time before her meeting with Sasuke. She had placed him in an apartment in an almost abandoned part of town. She had hoped to just leave him there but he had to eat and she couldn't let him walk around town with a henge, someone might see him and that would be trouble, Suna ninja's tended to kill first and ask questions later. So she had told him not to leave the apartment and had put a barrier on the door just to be safe. She looked at the bag of groceries in her hand, laughing softly to herself.

_If someone had told me when I was twelve that I would be dreading the thought of taking Sasuke groceries and cooking meals for him I would have laughed them silly. But on the other hand if someone had told me that I would grow up to be as emotionless as he was I would have laughed at them too._

She rounded the corner to the district where he was living and almost bumped into someone.

"Oh … I'm sorr…"

"Sakura-chan you were just the person I was looking for."

She looked up to see the forever grinning face of Naruto.

"Naruto …?"

"How are you Sakura? anything interesting happen lately?"

"Nope, nothing really."

He glanced at the bag in her hand.

"Oooh are you cooking Sakura? Can I come?"

She thought about it not sure if she wanted him to know that she was harboring Sasuke, but came to the conclusion that she would need help making sure that Sasuke stayed put until she found a way to get rid of him.

"Sure you can come but you have to carry the groceries."

He pouted and she laughed.

"Come on doofus, we're going to be late."

He laughed and fell into step beside her.

"So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise"

"Oh"

He seemed to need to think about that and for a while they walked in silence. Then she realized that she didn't know why he was in Suna in the first place.

"By the way, what are you doing here?"

He grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head the way he always did when he was nervous.

"Erm I was kinda worried about …"

He looked at her with the look that said he knew something that would upset her but he didn't know if he wanted to be the one to tell her.

"So you knew about him leaving?"

"Well … you see Sakura-chan … I… wait… you know he's here?"

"He stopped by to say hi."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"We are talking about Sasuke aren't we?"

"Yes."

"All he said was hi?"

Now it was her turn to look at him suspiciously.

"Why would he say anything else?"

"I know what happened between the two of you."

She sighed.

"What did he tell you?"

"I know that he loves you."

She stopped and threw him a glance.

"He told you this?"

He stopped too and looked away.

"Not in so many words, but he didn't have to. When I went to his apartment the morning after you left he was a wreck. He had drunk himself into a fine hangover and had trashed his house in the process. Besides its obvious when he talks about you. He loves you Sakura."

She looked up at him.

"You can't fall in love with someone in a couple of weeks Naruto, it doesn't work like that."

He looked at her strangely.

"You think that he _just_ fell in love with you?"

She looked at him quizzically.

"Sakura, Sasuke has always had feelings for you. Why do you think I hated him so much and tried so hard?"

"…"

"Kami, the both of you are so stupid it hurts sometimes. He has always felt something, Sakura. The reason that he pushed you away so vehemently is because he felt something."

"Really…? I thought it was because he was a jerk."

He laughed.

"Well I can't argue with you there but think about it this way. When we met Sasuke he had just had everything he cared about ripped away from him by Itachi. As long as he was alive the fear that anything he got close to would be ripped away as well would be overwhelming. So he pushed us away. And as much as I hate to say it he pushed you the hardest 'cos out of the team you would be the easiest to take away, and probably the one that would have devastated him the most. In his mind he did it for your own safety."

The serious expression on his face was so alien outside of battle it made her want to end the conversation.

"Naruto we can talk about this …"

"No, Sakura don't blow me off just yet. Listen, he loves you Sakura. He really does. And if two people deserve to find love, it's the two of you. And I know you must feel something otherwise you wouldn't be so weird around him. So at least give him a chance. You don't have to marry him or even date him for that matter just at least give him some kind of chance."

"I thought Gaara was your friend."

He sighed staring up at the sky as if it somehow would hold all the right answers.

"He is my friend. And I want what's best for him too. But you and Sasuke are like my family and selfishly I want to keep you as close to me as I can. If you guys relationship goes on much longer he's going to have to propose and …"

"Ermm … Naruto"

"No wait hear me out. If he proposes you would say yes and then what would we do. First thing is that Baa-chan probably wont let you leave. You're too precious to her and Konoha. The council _really_ wont let you leave and then there will be this strain between us and Suna and things would escalate to a point that …"

At this point it seemed that Naruto had wound himself up for a nice long rant and when he did that there was no point in trying to get a word in edgewise so she decided to keep walking. Hopefully he would get the hint and follow her.

He did, but unfortunately for her it wasn't enough stimulation to keep him from going on and on. Which he did until they reached the door of the apartment that Sasuke was living in for the moment. At this point he was animatedly describing battles of a war that would be brought on by her leaving Konoha for Suna. She turned to face him.

"Naruto, no one is going to war just because I leave Konoha. That would just be silly."

"I know Sakura-chan but we would want to … all of us would want to try and fight to keep you. Not just because it would be good for Konoha, but because we would miss you. Just think about it ok."

And with that he knocked on the door leaving her to think about what he had said. And just how close it had been to what Sasuke had said.

**AN: Ok First I had to stop here because I cant go any further because the next scene is going to be quite long and if I waited to write it with this one then you guys probably wont get an update for a while. So sorry about the shortness. As an apology I have written a xxx rated NaruSasuSaku on Naruto . adultfanfiction . net just search for it with my screen name Ishanatur. **

**Don't forget to let me know what you think.**

**Second I have several problems. School has been messing with my writing schedule. I've been trying to crawl out of debt so I have been working quite hard. Also I am in terrible need of a BETA. I would love to have someone who actually likes this story and wouldn't mind emailing me all the time to remind me to write. Someone stern and funny with a few of their own ideas about this story (I'm not opposed to creative criticism) So if you would like to be my BETA send me a personal note or leave me a note in the reviews and I will get in contact with you. **


	23. Chapter 23

Sasuke's voice came through the door sounding more than a little irritated.

"I would come and open the door for you but since you sealed me in here … do it your damn self."

"Teme! That's no way to speak to a lady."

"I agree … but since I wasn't talking to you there is no reason for your delicate ears to be offended."

"Its nice to know that you at least have … hey! Wait till I get in there! I'm going to throttle you!"

He glanced at her as she was taking the last of the seals off.

"Sakura-chan how long …?"

She opened the door and Naruto proceeded to bounce in with all his usual vigor and energy. Almost simultaneously a kunai came from where Sasuke was leaning against a wall, shirtless and wet as if he had just come out of a shower. The sight almost stole the breath from her body.

"_**He's such a beautiful man" **__Inner Sakura sighed feigning a swoon.._

"_I know…"_

"_**Did you just agree with me?"**_

"_If I said he wasn't attractive then I'd be lying to myself but that doesn't mean a damn thing."_

_Inner Sakura sighed, this time in exasperation. _

Suddenly her attention was dragged back to her surroundings by a thump. There the two boys were on the floor grappling like two year olds trying to share a toy.

"_Do these boys ever grow up?"_

"_**I doubt it**_**"**

She stepped over the grappling boys, who were so into their fight that they didn't notice her, and walked into one of the back rooms and opened the door to the bedroom. She looked around the room taking its pristine neatness before heading to the bed and grabbing two pillows of the bed. She walked back into the room and leaned against the wall counting slowly to ten to give them a chance to stop their foolishness. When she hit ten she raised both pillows and adding just a little chakra to make it hurt she whapped both boys upside the head.

She didn't know what she had expected the situation to turn out but she hadn't expected the pillows to explode covering a very stunned looking Naruto and Sasuke with feathers. The effect looked so silly she couldn't help but giggle. She placed a hand over the lower part of her face, to hide the evidence of her mirth.

Naruto recovered first. His eyes narrowing and one corner of his mouth sliding up in a look that spelt pure mischief. Knowing that look too well she started taking hesitant steps backwards.

"Naruto … don't you da…"

The words were caught in her throat as Naruto tackled her to the ground. He pinned her to the ground by sitting on her thighs, grinning evilly.

"Hmmm it seems that someone needs to be punished for being mean to us. What do you think Sasuke?"

She watched Sasuke look from Naruto to herself, the look of surprise still on his face. Then the look changed from surprise to uncertainty, a look that she hadn't known that he was capable of having. A look that said he wasn't sure if he was welcome in this little game that she and Naruto were playing. It didn't look right on him. He should never have to doubt that they were a family.

_I suppose it's because of me that he looks like that huh?_

_**Yep…**_

_I guess I should do something about it…?_

_**Probably…**_

_Even if it's just for Naruto's sake…_

_**Especially if it's for Naruto's sake, but don't do it for him do it for Team Seven and everything you three had once meant to each other.**_

Sakura sighed internally. But glanced over at Sasuke who looking at her quizzically and then at Naruto who always had that vague air of surprise when he realized that she was talking to her inner self.

"You done?" Naruto asked her.

She nodded then planted a smirk on her face and looked pointedly at Sasuke.

"Hah! You guys couldn't punish a puppy, much less me."

The look of uncertainty slid of Sasuke's face, followed by one of quick surprise and then an almost overwhelming gratitude. She hadn't known till that moment how much Sasuke had wanted to be let back in the family that Team Seven had built around themselves. Guilt swam through her and she glanced back at Naruto to avoid looking at that much emotion from someone who was usually so impassive. If the look on Sasuke's face made her uncomfortable, then the look on Naruto's was stifling. It was a mixture of gratitude, hope and disbelief, all wrapped into a look that only Naruto could pull off without looking completely crazy. Once again she felt guilty. In her own desire to keep away from Sasuke she had forgotten that she was also depriving Naruto of the one thing that he had always wanted. She made up her mind right then and there to make sure that he got that thing that he wanted so badly.

She was going to patch up Team Seven, they were going to be a family, even if it was the last thing she did.

**AN: Okay I know I haven't updated in a long time but I'm not dead I promise. And I will keep writing this. Its just that I haven't been getting as many reviews as I used to and its just a little discouraging. But its not fair to all the people who do read this if I suddenly just stop. So I am going to keep this going. I hope that you guys will like it enough to review. Actually the next chapter is finished and should be up in a week. Hopefully I can finish the entire thing before the month is over.**


	24. Chapter 24

Sasuke sat on the couch, contemplating the day he had had. In his mind it had been one of the weirdest of his life. And that was saying something considering his days had once included living with a sadomasochistic, pedophile with an obsession with immortality that had wanted his body in more ways than one. And yet this day had trumped all of those. Not in pure strangeness, because no one could beat Orochimaru when it came down to being strange, but in a more of "never would have thought this would be happening" kind of way. Because if someone had told him during the chuunin exams that he and Gaara would be having the "if you hurt her I'll kill you speech" about Sakura. He would have laughed them into oblivion. But weirdly enough it had happened.

_Flashback_

_He had been watching the small t.v. that the apartment had come with when all of a sudden every cell in his body had suddenly told him that behind him was danger. Trusting his instincts he rolled off the couch, using it as cover. He had moved just in time to see the sand reform into Gaara's appearance. He rose slowly, waiting for the man to fully appear before speaking._

"_Well, it seems she doesn't trust you either."_

_Gaara narrowed his eyes at him, the anger visible in his eyes. Then he glanced at the door and then back to him. _

"_If she had wanted to keep me out, she would have. She knows more than enough jutsu. This was just to give you a fighting chance. After all she has made it abundantly clear who she thinks is the better ninja."_

_This time it was his eyes that narrowed. _

"_Does it bother you that she is so obvious in her concern for my well being?"_

_Gaara's eyes narrowed again, his tension evident in the way his fist tightened and his jaw clenched._

_Score one for Uchiha Sasuke._

_But then, almost as soon as it had happened, his jaw unclenched and his fist relaxed._

"_I did not come here to trade verbal blows with you Uchiha."_

"_Then why did you com?"_

_Suddenly the windows darkened and the room started to fill with sand. It swirled around him, dancing close to his skin. The harsh little flecks of silicone gliding back and forth making shallow, but painful cuts on his arms, and clogging up his nostrils so inhaling became impossible._

_In a lesser man it would have caused panic, but Uchiha's don't panic. They may worry aggressively, but they never panic. Through the blinding sand Gaara's voice still managed to come through loud and clear._

"_If you ever so much as __**think**__ about doing anything that hurts her, whether intentional or accidental. I will make it so that even the dogs will not be able to track your scent. It will not be quick it. It will not be painless. It will be __**my**__ way. And it will confirm that I am the monster that you so adamantly claim. Even if she will hate me for it."_

_End Flashback_

He had to hand it to the man. Gaara knew how to make a threat. And as if to emphasize how effective he was the man had taken every single grain of sand with him. He had scrubbed down the entire apartment trying to find just one grain. He had hoped that he would be able to find one to use as some kind of ward or something. Maybe the thing would vibrate when he got close. It had worked with some of the people who had used water jutsu.

He sighed. He hadn't understood why the man who had clearly won in the battle for Sakura's heart would be threatening him. That was at least until Sakura and Naruto had come over and _"talked"._

_Flashback_

_He looked at them, Sakura pinned under Naruto and not a muscle tense between them. A soft longing stole over his mind. Not for Sakura, even though the desire for her was still there. This was more primal than that. This was the longing that had bound them so close to each other in the first place He had forgotten how much these two had meant to him, and how much he had wanted their acceptance. And here he was, somehow still on the sidelines. Just another family that Itachi had managed to take from him, only this time he had done all the legwork for the bastard._

_His gaze went back to Sakura. She had her eyes closed and her face was moving in a way that faces should not move. As if there was another face behind Sakura's but the transition from one to the other was so fast that it looked like her features were dancing. He glanced at Naruto, he would know if something was wrong with her. The blond looked slightly puzzled but not worried. As if he knew exactly what was going on but it still confused him anyway. Naruto was such a blond._

_Then suddenly her eyes were open and she was looking right at him._

"_Hah! You guys couldn't punish a puppy, much less me."_

_Gratitude washed over him. It wasn't an admission of undying love, but it was a start. It meant she was willing for all three of them to be friends and for now that would have to be enough._

_He walked up to the pair, positioning himself above Sakura's head and pinning her arms down._

"_Yes … I do believe that punishment is in order. What do you think Naruto … is a tickle-fest in order?"_

_Naruto's face literally lit up. He grabbed one of the feathers that was still clinging to him and held it up as if analyzing it._

"_Naruto … please … you cant .., you wouldn't … Naruto …I'll buy you a weeks worth of ramen …"_

"_Now now Sakura…are you trying to bribe me?"_

"_Erm .. two weeks…"_

_Naruto raised Sakura's shirt just enough that you could see her belly button._

_The sight of her bare skin made him recollect another time when her skin had been bare to him. But he pushed the thought down, this was neither the time or place for those kind of thoughts._

"_No on your life. Now Sasuke you get to see the amazingly ticklish side of Sakura."_

_He held the feather a hairs breath away from Sakura's stomach and she squirmed away as far as his hands and Naruto's weight would let her go. Then Naruto drizzled it along her skin and she had erupted in laughter. And so it began._

_Two hours later Naruto and Sasuke sat on the couch bruised beyond an inch of their lives and panting heavily. They had only succeeded in holding down the pink haired minx for all of about ten minutes before she had squirmed out of their hold and tried to take Naruto down. They had ganged up on her in a kind of brawl, but since neither he nor Naruto had been keen on hitting her in any way they had been outmatched. Not that that had seemed to bother Sakura much. She on the other hand had done everything but lace her punches with chakra. She had even used genjutsu (which was clearly cheating) to convince them to fight each other while she stood on the sidelines laughing. Laughing so hard it brought tears to her eyes. Laughing, just as she was doing now. Standing in front of them pointing and howling at her victory while they sat on the couch covered in bruises. Well, he was covered in bruises, Naruto looked as fresh as a spring daisy. _

I really hate the Kyuubi sometimes.

_He leaned over and smacked the blond in the shoulder, watching with sick glee as a bruise appeared on his skin only to disappear almost as quickly as it had come._

"_Oi! teme! – that hurt!"_

"_Hmm serves you right…. healing so fast"_

_Naruto threw him an aww shucks look and then bounded over to Sakura._

"_Sakura-chan Sasuke is being mean to me. Look he bruised my arm."_

_She moved him into a nearby stool and started to apply healing green chakra to Naruto's arm._

"_Now Sasuke is that any way to treat your teammate"_

_Both Naruto and Sasuke sweatdropped and gaped at her. She smiled, looking like the picture of innocence, as if she hadn't just tried to rearrange their limbs by brute force alone. _

_Then suddenly her face went from innocent to downright scary._

"_If you keep looking at me like that I might have to punish you again." She said in a sing song voice._

_Naruto actually fell off his stool in his hurry to get away from her. She laughed and reached out a hand to help him up. Naruto looked at her hand like it had grown tentacles and then up at her._

"_Sakura-chan…"_

_She raised her hand to her face glancing at the ring that still adorned her finger. She sighed softly._

"_It's not what you think, Naruto."_

"_No Naruto it is exactly what you think."_

_She glared at him through the corner of her eye._

"_No its not."_

"_So Gaara _didn't_ ask you to marry him."_

"_No … well he did …but…."_

_She turned so her back was to both of them, her shoulders sagging._

"_Sakura-chan?"  
He watched as her shoulders took on a determined set to them before turning around to face them._

"_He said that he wanted to marry me but he also understood what it would mean. How much Konoha means to me and how his position affected our relationship. The way Suna law is written, the wife of the Kazekage has to be a Suna citizen by either birth or naturalization. And even though naturalization would be easy, I am one of the best medics in the world after all, it would mean that when I came to Konoha I would be a guest. I wouldn't be able to jump in the fray when it needed my help. He said he understood if I couldn't give that up. He had thought about giving up his title and trying to become a regular citizen but the Suna council would never allow that either. So he decided that we …we shouldn't be together anymore."_

_The last came out as a whisper. Both he and Naruto had just stared at her as she spoke. She had looked so lost and in that moment Sasuke knew that a part of her had really loved Gaara. That they had had that thing that he wanted from her. It didn't mean that he would give up on her. It just meant that his job was just that much harder._

_Naruto walked up to her and slung his arms around her, pulling her to him in a fierce hug. _

"_It's ok Sakura-chan. At least this way we avoided war right."_

_At that she giggled before extricating herself from his arms and shoved him softly away._

"_You're right." She smiled and then glanced at Sasuke and winced at his obvious bruises._

"_I guess I should heal Sasuke now huh?"_

_Naruto glanced at both of them before saying "You're right… and you know what look at the time. I should probably start heading towards the base before someone starts worrying about me. See ya."_

_And with that Naruto bolted out the door. _

"_He's not very subtle is he?"_

_Sakura looked up at him and smiled._

"_No he's not, but he wouldn't be Naruto if he was."_

_She stood up and walked over to him, kneeling in front of him as he sat on the couch. She raised a hand to touch one of the bigger bruises on his cheek._

"_Sometimes I forget that not all of us have healing chakra. I never thought that I would have to pull punches when it came to you."_

_She poured her chakra into him and once more he felt that pleasant warmth go through him and that same sense of loss that came over him when it was gone. He grabbed her wrist as she started to pull away._

"_You have gotten so strong Sakura. I'm proud of you."_

_She smiled softly._

"_Thanks… but still … you shouldn't have gotten this banged up. Why didn't you fight back?"_

"_I couldn't bring myself to hurt you."_

_She glanced down, hiding behind her lashes._

"_Sasuke … just because Gaara and I are … it doesn't mean that we …"_

"_I know."_

_She looked back up at him, confusion evident in her eyes. He placed a hand on her cheek, tilting her face up and lowering his. And right before their lips touched he whispered._

"_That doesn't mean that I'll stop trying."_

_And then their lips met and everything he had felt the last time they had kissed came flooding back into him. He pulled a hairsbreadth away and whispered_

"_I love you, Sakura."_

_Her swift intake of breadth said it all and she pulled away so quickly it was like the words burned her._

_She stood up and took a step back and then another and another until she was at the door. He stopped her there._

"_Sakura …I…"_

"_I'm sorry Sasuke. I can't do this. Not right now."_

_And with that she slipped through the door and out into the night._

_End Flashback_

And that was how Uchiha Sasuke came to be sitting on a couch, trapped in an apartment, in the middle of Sunagakure, devising a plan to win Haruno Sakura's heart.

**AN: YAY a new chapter. I'm really bad at this writing for a deadline thing but hopefully it will get better soon. And it probably will because I have the most awesome beta EVER! She actually helped me figure out where this story should go next. And here she is the amazing! Fantabulous! (drum roll)**

**Sakura Butterflies**

**Hey People! yeah, I'm the ALMIGHTY BETA!!!! WOO! not really almighty, but I would like to think so... yeah my username is Sakura Butterflies...and my real name is...not tellin...but you can call me Kura-chan or something if you want. My job is to help unstuck the stuck writer! lol and help think of some ideas that can be used...so yeah... this story is awesome i feel special because i get to read the chappies before you all do! HAHA! o but don't come to me for spoilers cause i aint tellin! well...bye! **

** Kura-chan!!!**

**And there she is guys hopefully she can poke and prod me into writing faster**

**Ciao**


	25. Chapter 25

Sakura was not a morning person. Well that wasn't exactly true. She just wasn't a morning person when she had 2 hours of sleep because she had spent the night sparring with her teammates. She especially wasn't a morning person when she woke up to Naruto bounding on her bed. She grabbed a spare pillow and whacked him over the head with it then proceeded to snuggle harder under the covers.

"Aww Sakura-chan don't be mean! It's time to get up."

"Go away Naruto"

"But Sak…"

She stuck a hand up in the air and arranged her fingers in flicking mode. She felt him leap off the bed.

_Thank Kami for Tsunade-sishou for instilling the fear of forehead flicks in Naruto."_

She grabbed another pillow, snuggled it closer to her body and wrapped the blanket over her head, confident that Naruto wouldn't have the courage to mess with her for at least another ten minutes. Just as she started to get comfortable the covers were viciously ripped from her.

She went from lying on the bed to standing on it in seconds. "**NA-RU **...to?"

Instead of seeing the blonde that she was so used to her gaze landed on Sasuke, whose eyes were roaming appreciatively up and down her body taking in the way the white spaghetti strap top and the shorts clung to her. She cleared her throat. His eyes jumped to her face, as if he was surprised at being caught.

She crossed her arms over her chest glancing from one to the other.

"What do you guys want?"

"We have a mission."

She looked at him suspiciously. "We?"

"The council leaders are having some kind of ceremony so Baa-chan wanted us to escort some of them home and sit through the ceremony. A lot of the other teams are here as well." Naruto answered. "She said to tell you that she's sorry that she keeps interrupting your vacation but Team 7 was specifically requested. Apparently there was some kind of bidding war over who got us," he said chuckling.

Sighing, she dropped back onto the bed so she was sitting Indian style. She wrapped the blanket around her waist.

"When do we have to start?"

Sasuke answered this time.

"We have to attend the council meeting as guards as well so … in about 15 mins."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"How long have you known we had this mission?"

He smirked, "Since yesterday afternoon."

She grabbed her pillow and flung it at him, he caught it with ease. "Naruto is right, you really are a bastard."

"Doesn't change the fact that you have to get up."

She growled at him.

"Kids I don't want to interrupt your little talk but we kind of have a time deadline."

They both threw dangerous looks at Naruto.

"Hey don't look at me like that!"

"Fine … both of you out."

"But…"

"I have to get ready, so out or do I have to …" She lifted her hand and placed her fore-finger on her thumb. That small movement was enough to make Naruto grab Sasuke's arm and drag him out of the room. And one more time she found herself thanking the heavens for her mentor.

She crawled of the bed and grabbed a towel and her ninja attire and headed to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later she was out and standing in front of the mirror scowling at her hair. She almost missed the days when it was short. Then she didn't have to worry about what to do with it as much. If she left it wet then it would dry in the Suna heat to a wild tangled fluffy mess. Even if she used one of her wind jutsu to speed dry it she wouldn't be able to braid it in time.

She sighed, using the jutsu any way. Letting it fall down her back. The years of braiding had made it wavy, as opposed to the bone straight that it had been in her youth.

"Sakura-chan we're late!"

"Coming!"

"Sakura-chan YOUR HAIR!"

He bounced up to her and grabbed handfuls of it.

"It soo pretty you should have it like this all the time!"

"Thanks Naruto, it gets in the way though."

"Yeah but it's so cool like this don't you think Sasuke?"

They both turned to him. His face had paled and he was staring at her like she had grown a second head. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Sasuke …?"

The sound of his name seemed to pull him out of his reverie and he scowled before stomping out the room.

She glanced at Naruto.

"What's his problem?"

Naruto smiled and shrugged. "You mean other than the giant stick lodged up his ass?"

She laughed and said, "You're right it's Sasuke, he's probably on his period."

Naruto laughed and they walked out of her apartment following Sasuke to the main hall.

**AN: Ok this is totally a transition chapter. I know whats gonna happen next so you should have that soon.**

**Take care!**


	26. Chapter 26

Sasuke looked over the room, searching the room for some kind of suspicious activity.

_This is so pointless._

He felt restless. The need to move was making him edgy. Ever since he had seen Sakura with her hair down…. He had never really cared for pink. But since he returned to Konoha he could honestly say that he now understood its appeal.

It was bad enough when she had kept in a braid and the thing had bounced just enough to be one of the most distracting things that he had ever seen in his life. Now she had to have it down. A silky testament to the one time he had run his hands through it. He had gotten a physical and visual image so strong when she walked into the room that he had had no choice but to leave. Just the thought of the way she had felt when …. He stopped himself before his mind could follow such a dangerous path.

_I need to do something to distract myself._

He glanced to where Naruto was stationed; feeling sure that if he was restless, then Naruto was probably struggling not to explode out of his skin. The blonde had never had any patience.

_Is Naruto …standing still?_

If he wasn't an Uchiha his mouth would have fallen to the floor. For there Naruto was standing completely still, hands clasped behind his back, looking every bit the soldier that he was being paid to be. The sight reminded him just how different their lives must have been. This was his first guarding job. In his entire ninja career no one had ever hired him to watch their back, well at least not since he was a genin. Usually he was the one people were watching for. But growing up in the village, his teammates had probably done hundreds of these missions and had developed the appropriate "staying still while bored senseless" skills they required. He glanced over to where Sakura was, across the room, expecting her to be standing still like the resolute ninja she had become. Again he was sorely surprised.

There Sakura was, leaning over some nobles shoulder and smiling, tucking her hair behind her ear and _smiling_. He watched as the man whispered something into her ear that made her giggle, slap him lightly on the shoulder and toss all that wavy pink hair over her shoulder.

The shock hit him first. This time his mouth did open. Sakura was flirting. If he hadn't known her when they were younger, he would have said that she was incapable of it. As it were, he still wasn't sure that his eyes were working properly. He let his eyes slip into the sharingan for a millisecond just to make sure that this wasn't an illusion. It wasn't.

"_What does she think she is …?"_

He glared harshly at the man she was talking to. He seemed too happy to be Sakura's type. She preferred her men with emotional baggage of some kind, the need to heal things etched into her very DNA, so what was she _doing_ talking to someone so…?As if sensing someone was staring at them the man looked up and shaking his strawberry blonde hair out of his eyes, waved and smiled.

Sasuke frowned. Why would someone he didn't know be waving at him? Didn't the man know who he was? At the frown the man turned and whispered to Sakura who looked up at him, curiosity all over her face. Then she smiled, turned to the man and whispered something in his ear. This time both of them laughed. He could feel the warmth of embarrassment crawl up his face. He couldn't believe he was blushing. It took all of his will power to force the offending emotion down. Uchiha's didn't blush. But then Sakura Haruno wasn't supposed to be flirting with strange men, especially not men that smiled and laughed like the world was full of flowers and pixie dust, instead of blood and pain. At least Gaara had the good sense to be a ninja. What kind of life did she think she would have with some spoiled brat noble?

He frowned harder, trying to show them both his full disapproval, hoping to wipe off the grin from his face. If anything, the extra effort he was putting made the man smile and wave harder. Disgusted he turned away, hoping desperately for something to distract him from the sight and memory of Sakura's smiling face and the knowledge that someone else had put that smile there.

***

Sakura walked through the village, feeling happier than she had in a long time. The look of wide-eyed shock on Sasuke's face as she had been talking to Ajisai1 had been priceless. She didn't know what he thought he was seeing, but she had to make sure to tease him about it later.

_**You're**__ planning on teasing somebody._ The second part of her personality piped in.

_Yeah… so??_

_It's just not like you to be this …_

_This…?_

… _happy, I guess._

_What's that's supposed to mean?_

_Admit it you're enjoying having team 7 back together._

_Well, yes of course I am._

_And you know that __**some**__ people might attribute your new zest for life as a direct result of Sasuke's return. _

She scowled. _That has nothing to do with it. I'm just glad to …_

_Have him back?_

She frowned harder.

_Ok fine. Just because Im glad to have him back doesn't mean anything. _

_I didn't say it did._

_You didn't say it but you insinuated it._

_I insinuated NOTHING!_

_Just because you're thinking about it doesn't mean that I am. _

_Yeah sure whatever you say._

_You know as useful as you may be, you can be kind of irritating._

_I live to please._

_I just bet you do._

She kept walking through the winding streets finding her way back to Gaara's apartment to pack for the oncoming trip back to Konoha.

She was going to miss Suna. She had gotten so used to its blistering heat not to mention the man that lived here. She understood why he broke up with her. She really did. Once they had been walking through a gift shop and he had glanced at a plaque, his face twisting in confusion as he read the message "If you love something let it go, if it returns it belongs with you forever." He had asked her to explain, and when she had he nodded in that resolute way that he did when he thought something was not just fact, but a truth of the universe. The ring had meant that she could come back. He wasn't breaking up with her so much as he was giving her room to make up her mind.It was strange how someone who had once tried to kill her now treated her with such tenderness.

All too soon, she reached the apartment and taking a deep breadth (and not hoping that Gaara wasn't home yet) she walked through the door.

As soon she walked through it she was backed up against the wall with such force that it made her wonder how long he had been waiting for her to return.

"Gaara, what …?"

Whatever she was about to say was silenced as his lips came crashing down on hers. He kissed her harshly, causing familiar fires to spread through her body. He pulled away for an instant kissing his way across her jaw line to whisper in her ear.

"I don't like it."

She pulled away from him confused.

"Don't like what…"

"Giving you freedom."

She smiled softly. She loved the way that she could predict what he was thinking.

"Oh?"

"You said …"

"I know what I said."

"I don't like it."

"I don't expect that you do."

"You belong here. I don't care where you're from. Don't care what you're responsibilities are. I don't want you to leave."

"I leave all the time Gaara."

He frowned at her. "Stop being difficult."

She pulled away from him, heading to the bedroom where all her stuff was located.

"Why? You think I want to leave? Think I want to deal with everything that going home means? Think I want to have to deal with the prying eyes and helpful gestures …. Not to mention the council?!"

Her voice had begun to rise. She didn't mean to yell at him, it wasn't his fault. She just needed to yell at someone. She didn't want to have to deal with this. It was too confusing a decision.

"Do you think I _like_ being pulled in every which direction?!"

"Sakura….", his voice was low and deep. The way it was when she was testing his patience.

She knew she was being unreasonable. She turned her back to him stuffing clothes into bags.

"You think its easy?! Do you know what I am going to face when I go back? And you're going to let me face it alone…!" a small sob erupted from her chest. She dropped everything in her hands and turned around only to bump into his chest as he pulled her into his arms.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't yell at you. It's not your fault. You're only trying to help. I know that. I just…"

She sobbed harder. Letting it all come out as he massaged her back slowly.

A few minutes later found them lying on the bed. His back resting on the headboard while she lay with her head on his lap, hands running through her hair.

"Do you need me to come to Konoha with you?"

"No, This is something that I need to do on my own."

He shrugged. A motion she had come to read as letting her make her own decisions as opposed to a show of indifference.

He then lowered his head to her ear to whisper:

"Now that you've gotten that out of your system … I believe you interrupted something with your little tantrum."

She laughed flipping herself over and pulling him down for a kiss.

"I believe I did."

***\

AN: Wow ..another chapter… this came to me at work while I was trying to force myself to write…. I mean work… that's what I'm supposed to do at work right…

Oh well please don't hate me for taking so long…

As usual cookies go to the reviewers….

Thanks to all the reviewers who noticed that I had not updated this since JANUARY …*hangs head in shame*

and a response to shedevil628 who said that sakura was acting Who**rish by sleeping with sasuke . I have to disagree. Even on good days it's easy to make a mistake and on especially bad days it is even easier. In the times of great loss, sometimes you just need someone to be there for you and show you that you are still connected to the world or even to just distract you from the pain. And sometimes you're significant other just cant be there… besides I needed it to make the plot move forward  .hope you understand the artistic vision behind it

1 This is a hint to who this strange new man in Sakura's life is …


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